Thoughts on our political discourse

It does not seem to me that we can talk about our political culture without talking about the ways in which we engage with that culture, in particular the language and the tone we use to approach the issues we seek to debate.  Politics is about differences and it is about choices.  People in public life choose to be here and are given a platform to communicate to people through words.  To refuse to acknowledge that words and symbols express specific ideas but also leave broader impressions is both irresponsible and shows a complete lack of understanding of the challenges we face.  This is particularly the case when those words and symbols could be construed as an endorsement of violence.  January 16, 2011