Knowing is half the battle

One of the biggest mistakes I think a lot on the Left make these days is this belief that a vast majority of those on the Right are incapable of forming opinions on their own. Not only is this intellectually dishonest, as it tends to be used as an excuse to attack the messenger rather than the message and often ignores the merits of the opinions, but it also becomes an insult to those who may, for better or worse, share an opinion with Charlie Sykes, Mark Belling, Rush Limbaugh or whatever other "squaker" is out there. It basically states that conservative, right-of-center individuals do not have the capacity for individual thought. I don't know about you, but if that's your first assertion in a debate, I'm not going to waste too much time talking to you.

(As an aside, while the megaphone of the Right is found mostly in the hands of "wing-nut radio talkers," the Mr. Microphone of the Left could easily be said to be in the hands of Hollywood celebrities. Now I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but I can't recall the last time a liberal viewpoint was responded to with "you're just taking your marching orders from Sarah Jessica Parker!")

All I'm saying is, as a suggestion to my friends on the Left, start giving those of us on the Right a little more credit. Even though we may disagree, you could at least respect our opinions as our own, and not be so quick to discount them based on an often incorrect assumption of how they were formed. In the end, it will work out better for us all.