I completely agree. As a matter of fact, I compare those who refuse to listen to the opposition (on principle, they say) to those who vehemently opposed gay rights because they were, in fact, hiding their own fears about being gay.

People who refuse to listen to what the other side have to say aren’t principled, but rather they’re afraid they might hear something that actually makes sense. And when these people hear something that the opposition says that makes sense, it makes these same people start to question their own stance or (horrors) it forces them to recognize the opposition as Human Being(s), rather than the Vile Demon(s) they’ve been made to be.

It’s interesting that political candidates and their supporters are resorting to the same propaganda tactics that the U.S. and former Soviet Union employed during the Cold War, and the U.S. and Europe used during WWII. Do not see the enemy as a person, but rather as a one-dimensional, evil entity, who’s single purpose is the destruction of everything good and pure. It’s an effective (and necessary) practice during war time, but it’s tantamount to zealotry during a political campaign.

So I’m with you, Harry Dreyfuss, and maybe your dad being at a Cruz rally to learn, rather than support, will be the catalyst to get everyone thinking again, similar to when John Denver sided with Twisted Sister against the PMRC and forced everyone to step back and take a good, hard look at what they were doing.