Is the other side *really* stupid?

Election season - sometimes it turns into multi-year events.  I am so disillusioned by our whole political process that for several years now I've declared myself "anti-encumbant" rather than pro-anything.  Every time I see a political ad I scoff at it just knowing that it is full of half-truths and twisted statements that do nothing for the American people - the individuals running for office are, in my opinion, completely self-interested, focused solely on election or re-election and will say or do whatever it takes to accomplish that ONE goal.  I imagine them rubbing their hands a-la Oil Can Harry, and muttering a "muwah ha ha" over thoughts of golden parachutes, upper-class salary for life, and a total lack of accountability.  They have made it their job to get elected, and re-elected, instead of actually working for the good of the people.

Just like the evening news is never focused on good things, I am hard-pressed to find news accounts of politicians doing anything good - with the exception of that guy in New Jersey saving his neighbors from a fire.  I hope he rises in political ranks - if he goes national I just might vote for him.  (and the cynical side of me is saying, yeah, just wait, he'll run for president and then some "real" story will come out - no doubt from his opponent - about how the fire rescue was staged!)

But what really amazes me, is the constant stream of web traffic that boldly claims "the other side is stupid" for thinking what they think and believing it's important to them.  Over and over I see people on Facebook "like" a posting from some political page with incredible names like:
"Too informed to vote Republican"
"Republican Bigotry Hate Fear Lies and Distortion"
"Things Liberals Hate"
"Liberal Logic 101" - (don't be fooled by the rather innocuous sound of this one - it's full of claims of stupidity)

One side is a monster, the other side is stupid.  Until the next politician gets caught with his pants down (literally or metaphorically, take your pick.)  While there might be a grain of truth to the stereotypes represented on these pages, sometimes I just stare in open-mouthed awe at the pure hatred coming from some people, who spread their hate in the relative comfort of internet anonymity.  God bless the inventors of the internet, but sometimes I think it should have come with a "best practices" pamphlet.

I'm all for reading information from both sides and to make my own decision, but it's getting increasingly hard to sift through all the hate and vitriol to *make* a decision.   I keep reading all these blogs trying to get to the heart of "what is wrong with our society" and whatever path they take or theory they espouse, it seems to all come down to the same conclusion:  let's just be nicer to each other!

Don't bother asking me what the solution is - I wouldn't even know where to start, which makes me sad.  So instead I leave you with this other internet story making the rounds - it seems profound, whether its provenance is true or not.

A Cherokee Legend

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy.
"It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego." He continued, "The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"
The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."