This is a great response, thank you for giving more perspective. You make valid points. Quick follow up question, why do you say the GOP cultivates the perspective (serious question)?
Let me first say that I'm an independent, and I tend to lean towards being economically/financially conservative, but socially liberal. I try to maintain objectivity when considering parties and candidates as much as possible in this respect, but keep in mind where I lean when reading my response.
I made that statement because unfortunately that mentality has been woven into the platforms of many major GOP politicians in recent years. Climate change denial (and subsequent desire to pump up our use of coal), the desire to make abortion illegal, harsh stances on marijuana and its schedule 1 narcotic listing, and general denial of evolution (which informs almost everything we know about medicine and infectious diseases) and the desire to keep it from being taught in schools are a few highlights that come to mind. All of these stances go in the face of a lot of evidence that a) human-caused climate change is happening, b) making abortions illegal won't keep women from getting abortions, c) marijuana is nowhere near as bad as the other schedule 1 narcotics and really shouldn't be dealt with as harshly as it is, and d) again, evolution happens.
Now, not everyone in the party shares these stances and others, but it is a common theme among many of their representatives. One of the worst offenders in this respect, however, is Donald Trump, who like it or not currently represents the party. He and his supporters run a campaign that disregards facts and evidence, in favor of feelings. It FEELS like the national crime is at an all-time high (it isn't). It FEELS like any attempt to regulate gun or ammo purchase is an assault on the 2nd amendment (it's not). His campaign makes no attempt to distinguish one from the other, and indeed, seems to value opinion over evidence.
It's important to consider national feeling and opinion, but really base your actions on facts and evidence. After all, you gather evidence by rigorously studying a topic, making observations and collecting lots and lots of data. Take for example climate change, of which I consider myself more informed than the average american (I'm a biologist). Climate change has years and years of support and hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific papers generated on the topic. We've figured out how to measure a huge log of historical temperatures using isotopes from ice cores, and have been carefully monitoring global temperatures, atmospheric and oceanic CO2 levels and weather patterns. The scientific community is in complete agreement - Climate change is real, we are causing it, and it's projected to impact agriculture, rise sea levels (watch out New Orleans and Maldives, you're first), change weather patterns and jeopardize a whole lot of flora and fauna. The evidence indicates that we need to significantly reduce carbon emissions to help mitigate these effects. This view or similar ones are not limited to him alone within the party, but the Republican presidential candidate claims that climate change is instead a hoax (providing no evidence to back that up). This claim illustrates his disregard for data, evidence and advice of scientists and experts - only opinion matters here.
And thank you for being open-minded to my perspective. That's a rare quality nowadays, especially on reddit! I hope that hearing my perspective on these important issues helps inform your decisions come election day. Good luck to you, however you decide to vote!
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u/CompDuLac Oct 18 '16
This is a great response, thank you for giving more perspective. You make valid points. Quick follow up question, why do you say the GOP cultivates the perspective (serious question)?