Two great enemies of politics: indifference to human suffering and the passionate quest for certainty in matters which are essentially political

Politics can be an exciting, boring, uplifting, depressing and downright nasty business. It always has been. For these reasons I have made it the focus of my study for an awfully long time, but also for these reasons I more often than not try to avoid following it at all costs.

I was going to do this whole positive bit on 'politics' being essentially about the conciliation and compromise of innumerable issues in the pursuit of maintaining peace, harmony and (hopefully) prosperity that is (roughly) 'just/fair', but my heart just isn't in it.

Against my better judgment, I decided have a look around at some of the reaction to Sarah Palin being chosen as McCain's Vice-President nomination, but the discussion is just so split along partisan lines that I just can't be bothered. There are an awful lot of hateful people out there who seem to confuse 'righteous anger' with 'coherent argument'. My free time at the moment is WAY too valuable to waste time on it.

I really can't stress enough how depressing it is to find that so many (so very, very many) commentators out there appear to offer little more than vitriol, unsupported by anything more than a certain kind of smug, self-satisfied (albeit seemingly ill-informed) anger. And that's it. No more. For all the talk of hope and future at the top, there's a lot bitterness and resentment down below.

If distaste/dislike/hate/loathing is what drives someone, and ideological certainty (of whatever persuasion) underwrites an individual's identity (and often their very being), they are unlikely to read, listen and (most of all) consider conflicting positions. That's not good. It's not good for a lot of reasons, but - it appears to me - there is one reason why above all others.

For me, 'good' politics is essentially a discourse. It is a process of discussion. It should produces progress out of dialogue. Its outcomes should preserve both freedom and stability by bringing everybody together to the bargaining table. In order for successful resolutions, this has to be underwitten by open minds and mutual respect.

This should be obvious. People disagree about stuff. All sorts of stuff. The everyday business of politics is nothing more than the peaceful negotiation among conflicting interests. The enemy of this is ideological dogmatism (of all forms), ideological determinism (of all forms), rightious anger (of all forms), and do you know what else? A lack of respect that manifests itself in bloody-minded rudeness.

So instead of a lofty discussion of principles, policy and the future of the world's sole superpower, all I'm seeing is a bunch of rude people scrapping over a bone.

And it isn't pretty.

Someone wake me when it's over.