Everyone hates taking tests, or filling out forms. So, in order to fool you, I'm pretending the following questions are not a test, or a form, or a survey. I assume that most of you will be gullible enough to buy this, although as your thumbs get more and more tired, doubts may creep in. Ignore them!
If you are one of the two and a half percent of Americans who like to go online and tell others what you think of their horseshit, your teeny-tiny demographic is especially crucial to me. Here's your chance to tell us what you think, but at length. (For those of you who get annoyed at the length of my pieces, here's your chance to waste MY time. Think of how good it will feel to force me to read YOUR ideas!)
Following are some questions I plan to ask people who come on the Hot Plate radio show, either as guests or as listeners calling or writing in. I'm asking everybody the same questions, whether they self-identify as conservatives, liberals, or something else.
Anyone who wants to answer one or more of these questions can do so here, in a comment, or email me at karlstraub@hotmail.com. If your response is long, feel free to make it a document. That will make it easier for me to collect all the data.
Feel free to be colorful! If you want to include profanity, or words that others may find offensive, be my guest. I calculate it could take as much as ten or eleven hours to answer these questions, and you may need to vent to keep your strength up. (Protein or liquor could also help. Use your judgment about that.)
I encourage people to circulate this and get friends and family to weigh in. Share online, or print it out and hand it to someone. I'm especially interested in conservative response since conservatives don't comment much on my writing. NOTE TO MY FELLOW TEACHERS: I would love it if students were asked these questions, and the responses sent to me. If I get a lot of responses from any particular school or class, I will be happy to mention it on the air. It is an opportunity for civic engagement, or a way to get kids thinking, in case you have students who could benefit from either of those things.
GENERAL GUIDELINES. (These are guidelines I'll use when interviewing people. If you're answering this stuff and sending it in, you can consider these things, or blow them off, as you see fit.)
Respondent should feel free to make generalizations, with the idea that we want them to speak openly without fear of reprisal. But we also want to draw them out, and back up emotional views, deal with logical inconsistencies and double standards etc. A few things I'm hoping to get from people-- honesty about any doubts they may have about their side, or admissions that people on the other side aren't always wrong, or speculation about how someone different from them might feel about something. Also-- whenever a generalization comes out, there should be followup questions like "Are there any exceptions to this?"
THE QUESTIONS
(Answers can be short or long. You can always give examples or try to explain your answer if you want to do that.)
How do you identify yourself politically? (Conservative, liberal, centrist, right, left, etc.)
Describe a typical interaction with someone who is politically on "the other side." If there's no such thing as a typical interaction, please describe interactions that you'd call good, or bad. Which kind is more common?
Can you recall early examples of your awareness about the difference between liberals and conservatives? Or early examples of interaction with someone on the other side that were frustrating to you?
Can you think of an example where someone on the other side has a point but they're so irritating about it that you can't go along with them, even though you don't totally disagree with them?
Do you have any (people on the other side) in your family?
Do you have any (people on the other side) friends?
How have your family and friends influenced your political views? Have you ever changed or modified a view because of an argument? Has anyone ever talked you into or out of something you believe, or used to believe?
Have your political views ever affected your relationships with family or friends?
Discuss your sense of the political spectrum--
Far left, center left/right, far right etc.
What are the differences among those? Feel free to give examples.
Is it possible that people on one side could be smarter, or dumber, than the other? How might education affect this? Does education always help to make people smarter? What does it mean for people to be smart, or dumb, about political issues? What does "political" mean to you?
What are some of your most basic views re: values, institutions, etc. What are things you are for/things you believe in that never change for you?
What do you think America means? What were the founders trying to do with this new country they were designing? Can you think of any inconsistencies/disagreements among the founders? Is there anything about the founders/constitution/bill of rights etc. that you would criticize or question? Are there any basic American principles you don't like, or don't agree with?
What are some basic American values that you think the other side doesn't understand or respect?
What is freedom? Is it important to you? Do you think the other side feels the same way about freedoms as you do, or do they see it differently?
Do you think people on the other side are more or less American than you?
Imagine an American government that was all Republicans or all Democrats. What would be good about this? What would be bad about it? (Consider all four questions.)
If you could wave a magic wand and make the American government 100% your side (all three branches would be all one party), would you do it? Why or why not?
Is there such a thing as "un-American"? Is it possible for an American citizen to be un-American?
Are there any Americans that you think are so un-American that they should be forced to leave? Or, if I soften it, are there any citizens that you wish would leave so America would be better?
What's bad about America, and whose fault is it?
Was there a time when America was better, when was this time, and how was it better? Was it worse in some ways?
What is good or bad about the modern world?
What are your thoughts about political parties and corruption? What does it mean for a political party or individual politician to be corrupt? Do you think one party is more corrupt than the other? If so, why do you think that happened? Do you think the ideas of one political philosophy can lead to corruption more easily than the other?
Is there anything you don't like about your party? Do you think your party always represents you and your needs or ideas?
What are your thoughts about the media? Do you put some media in one category and others in another? What should the job of the media be? Does our current media fall short of this standard? Which media do you think live up to your standard and which do not? What does fairness in media mean? Should any media outlet be "balanced" politically, and what would that mean if they were?
What do you think about facts and truth and media? What are some examples of lying in the media? How do you figure out what's true and what isn't? Is there such a thing as impartial fact checking? How many lies does someone have to tell before it's correct to call them a liar? Is it possible to tell some lies, but not be a liar? Is it ever ok for a politician to lie?
Is there such a thing as absolute truth? If so, how do we determine what it is? Whom do you trust when you want to know the truth about something? Is there anyone you trust but don't always agree with?
Give examples of media you get information from, and media you avoid. Are there any media you used to like and now you don't? Or, any media you used to dislike and now you like?
Do you think the media you get news from are fair or balanced? Do you think the media you get news from tend to slant to one side? If so, is it good for you to get news from one side? Is there any possible danger in avoiding one or more media?
Do you think the other side should be more sensitive to your feelings and needs? Is there any value in thinking about the other side's feelings? Should both sides be sensitive to the other?
Is it possible to disagree with the other side but still respect them? What does it mean to respect a different view?
Which groups of people do you think cause the most trouble or contribute to problems in America? Feel free to generalize about race, class, sexual orientation, geography, etc.
Why do you think those people cause trouble or contribute to problems?
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