The problem with Blog Political Discourse Today!

Mark Shea knows what it is. He tells all here. He notes a reader, who says the following:

A lot of political discussions these days -- and I saw the same "Bush is a baby-hating racist!"/"Bush is beyond reproach" dynamic on a Dominican mailing list -- seem to exhibit a sort of collapsing wave function. In the abstract, people will allow that things are complex, that more than one moral actor is involved in political activity, that pure evil doesn't exist outside of "Time Bandits."

But when it comes time to join the public dialog, everything collapses to black-and-white. The "of course Bush can be criticized for what he did wrong about Katrina" of the right comes off as convincingly as the "of course Saddam is a tyrant" of the left did three years ago. It's clear where the passions and energies lie: in defending Bush against all charges (what part of "we're at WAR!" don't you understand); in opposing Bush with any charge (he lied, people died).

That's about right from what I see. But why is that?

Well, we live in a media-saturated world:The blogosphere, talk radio, network and cable news. The media define a story using that immemorial plot device known as conflict. Their favorite conflict is when two factions duke it out over an issue. It makes for high ratings and readings. The trouble begins when their incredible influence on the culture drowns out other means of discourse. People fall into the habit of immitating the media. Talk show listeners take on the bantering style of their favorite hosts. The Blogosphere annoints itself the chastizer of the far too liberal/conservative media. They put on the perspective of conflict that demands sides are taken.

If one choses not too, then they're viewed with suspicion or dismissal. That puts Catholics that take CST seriously in an akward position. The reason is no political ideology can ever be home. Catholics aren't liberal or conservative. They're Catholic!

We can tell when we're doing the right thing in political discourse. It's simple: If absolutists of either ideology both take us to task for a position, we're doing it right!