I received a reply to my post entitled, “The Ten Commandments of a Liberal” and I answered with my reply. Not that I think that Concerned Engineer will check back and engage in a thoughtful discussion about anything, particularly since he came from this site, where he demonstrated his intelligence and thoughtfulness, if I may engage in sarcasm. I should add that I think that Steve Holt’s site has some very interesting points of view – I only note that Concerned Engineer posted there, not that I disagree with Steve Holt’s ideas. I particularly like the response that Mitch posted.

It occurred to me, after reading Mitch’s response, and pondering my own response, that it is completely impossible to engage in reasoned discussion with these personality types. That led me to do a little digging to see what I could find out about these kinds of people. One particularly illuminating site turned up quickly – a site where Robert Altemeyer has posted his book on-line, for anyone to read for free. The book is entitled, “The Authoritarians” and I think it is must reading for anyone who wants to get a handle on the element that has infected the Republican Party and brought shame to this once-great country.

As I read this book on-line, I am also reading my newly received copy of “The True Believer”, by Eric Hoffer. Perhaps reading these two books will enable me to gain a larger view of the crisis that our country is experiencing and give me hope that an Obama presidency will do something to heal the wounds inflicted by the followers of Sarah Palin and John McCain.