So, my parents went to protest the President’s speech, and they were not arrested—in fact it doesn’t look like anyone was arrested, which is good. My mom said there was a good turnout, and that three protesters actually got in, turned their backs to Bush when he came in, and then walked out when he started talking. According to her—and to the radio—you could hear the protestors throughout Bush’s speech, which is pretty good, considering that he’s usually described as very isolated from protestors. And from what I heard on the radio, the cheers during his speech were half-hearted at best.

My mom said she knew tons of people there, including Dr I and his wife, and they had a nice time. Someone from the Elkins paper interviewed my dad apparently, but I haven’t seen any papers, so I can’t tell you if they got their pictures in any papers.

This morning on the radio I heard an interview with Charlene Marshall, who said she was disappointed in the speech. Which is pretty polite of her I think. I think when I see Gwen Marshall, I’ll have to ask her if she went with her mom, and what she thought.

I was pleased that WVU chose to allow protestors that close to the President. With all the hooplah over the “Free Speech” areas, I figured that WVU might just arrest anyone protesting on University property, but things went well and there don’t seem to have been any arrests, so I’m pleased.

Next time we see the Campus Cops who work at Health Sciences, we’ll have to ask them their opinion about the whole thing. I’m all but certain that every single WVU Officer was required to work, same for all the city police, sheriff department, and local state police. With all the overtime, I can only imagine what this did to already strained budgets.

I haven’t heard much more about Rove et al pushing Capito into a Senate run, but my Mom said she saw lots of pro-Byrd signs (one of the sings that I put up was BYRD 2006) in addition to anti-Bush signs, so despite the fact that they want to take out Byrd, it looks like he still has plenty of support, at least around here. Which is probably unsurprising, considering all the money Byrd has brought into this area and into this state. While it looks like National Guard units will be moved out of the state despite Bush lauding our Guard and Reserve units during the campaign. Though I figure South Dakota should be even more insulted. They voted in a Republican senator only to lose their base, and one of the biggest employers in the state. Gotta love the loyalty shown to those who supported Bush in the last election.

But really, I was glad to hear that the protest went well, and everything was civil. One of the things that I hate so much about the current political climate is the amount of bile and invective that are thrown about the political stage. Both sides are so polarized that no one is listening to anything the other side is saying, and many times with good reason. One of the many lessons I learned from the BBSes was that the more shrill and hostile you became, the more you were ignored. But actually listening to the other side, and conceding their good points made them more receptive to listening to what you had to say.

Not everyone of course, and not all the time, but I found that when true discussion happened, everyone learned, and everyone had their minds changed about some portion of the subject, even if it was just learning that those on the other side were not all hot head lunatics. And I ended up partaking in a lot of good an interesting discussions, learning a lot, and having my mind changed about any number of subjects. And we managed to talk about all the subjects you’re supposed to avoid: God. Religion. Abortion. Gun control. Sexuality. Free speech. The Death Penalty.

And I eventually learned and understood both sides of the issue, and saw that the arguments on both sides had validity. (In fact I can–and have–argued either side of several of those issues, solely for the sheer joy of debate.)

I really miss those discussions. I love Making Light, but often the discussion there is preaching to the choir. Obsidian Wings is nice, however at times I find the voices on the far left and the far right a little too negative. And too often posts are stated in absolutes, which leaves no room for discussion, for listening to what the other side has to say, and for addressing the problems of the other side.

Unless I am willing to accept that my opponents belief system has validity, then I am not truly willing to engage in debate, and neither side will get anywhere. Which is the point that American politics is rapidly reaching. As long as choruses on both sides shout down opinions they dislike, and brand those with whom they disagree as traitors, we will continue to accomplish nothing.

“I may disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

For me the idea of civilized debate has always come down to this. My opponent has a right to speak, and civilized discourse says that as long as both sides are being polite, I owe my opponent the respect of listening to what they are saying, because only then will I be able to convince them of the validity of my own argument.