"If I'm going to say anything about John Edwards in the future, I'll just wish he had been killed in a terrorist assassination plot."[1]

"I mean, they [Republicans] are up at six in the morning trying to figure out which minority group they're going to screw today the hate, they eat for breakfast. They are going to fight and they are going to smear, and they are going to lie, and they are going to hate."[2]

General Petraeus or General Betray Us?[3]

"He betrayed this country! He played on our fears. He took America on an ill-conceived foreign adventure dangerous to our troops, an adventure preordained and planned before 9/11 ever took place."[4]

"Al Qaeda really hurt us, but not as much as Rupert Murdoch has hurt us, particularly in the case of FOX News. Fox news is worse than Al Qaeda worse for our society. It's as dangerous as the Ku Klux Klan ever was."[5]

Whether they are defending the Soviet Union or bleating for Saddam Hussein, liberals are always against America. They are either traitors or idiots, and on the matter of America's self-preservation, the difference is irrelevant.[6]

Here we have six quotes from various individuals (and one is from an organization) that represent my feelings about what so much of American politics have become. Some of these quotes are worse than others, for sure, as some are simple idiocy. For instance, is it really credible to compare a news organization to a homegrown terrorist group largely responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans, the lynching and torture of possible millions, and the horrible butchering of democracy in the American South for a hundred years? Is it really credible to compare a news organization to a group responsible not only for the deaths of tens of thousands of Iraqi citizens, several thousand American ones as well, and partially responsible for the oppression of all basic human freedoms in Afghanistan for twenty years? Of course not. This is as clear-cut of an example of ridiculousness as Ive ever seen, and the moron who utters it should be ignored.

Nonetheless, he is not. Keith Olbermann continues to host his show on MSNBC. Not only that, but his ratings are increasing recently. Im more saddened by this fact than the quote itself. Every country has its idiots, and in America we tolerate them very well, but we, the consumers, dont have to reward their insanity.

The same can be said of the individual who spoke the first and last quotes: Ann Coulter. I realize this is a conservative blog, and there may be some Coulter fans reading it. I apologize for offending you in advance, but Ann Coulter has gotten a wink and a nod from conservatives (and another group whose identity she claims: Christians) for far too long. Wishing death on an American presidential candidate is something she should have not only never done, but immediately apologized for. As for her second quote, I do wonder just who she defines as liberals when she accuses them of always being against America. Was Franklin Roosevelt really against America? Harry Truman? Lyndon Johnson? Did John F. Kennedy defend the Soviet Union? I didnt think so. Its true that a sadly-high number of liberals do hate this country, but they do not make up the majority of those who we would call liberal.

Ann Coulter is a product, though: her dress style, her cute and punchy lines, her extremely-controversial books and statements all attest to that. Im mainly sad that its working so well (her latest book is 1# best seller recently, according to the New York Times).

The same cant be said for the man who said the fourth quote: Al Gores been raging against just about everything ever since 2000. Im not surprised that he dislikes George Bush. Im not surprised hes still upset over the 2000 election. I can understand that, to be honest. What does surprise me is that a former-vice president had the gall to not only engage in the ridiculous conspiracy theory that the war in Iraq somehow was planned before 9/11 took place, but also accuse the president of treason. Once again, Im saddened.

The second and third quotes are from what may just be the beating heart of the polarization of American politics itself: Michael Moore and Moveon.org, respectively. Theres not been as divisive a president as George W. Bush since Abraham Lincoln, and Moore and Moveon have been leading the hate-charge (ironic, due to Moores characterization of Republicans in his above quote) against Bush ever since the Iraq invasion. Which is not to say they havent hated Bush longer than that, I would guess that they have, but the temporary surge of patriotism around 9/11 forced them to keep lower about it (or, at least, forced the mainstream media to ignore them).

Which brings me to my point: American politics have reached a level of polarization not seen since the ex-Confederate politicians returned to Washington D.C. after the Civil War. Make no mistake, those years, along with the 1850s, were definitely more polarized and angry, and the politicians disagreements stronger, than these are today. The South saw its constitutional states rights being stripped away cruelly by a rapidly growing, encroaching federal government that was bent on taking away their way of life and ideals as well. The North saw the South as a regressive, brutal land of total inequality determined to spread its immoral way of life to the new states.

Todays struggle is more complex, but the fundamental effects are the same: polarization. Polarization leads to irrational discussion, dismissal of ideas often before theyre heard, strong dislike and even hate, and most importantly, disunity. Just how bad is this polarization? I would think the quotes at the top could tell you. But hasnt America always been divided? To this question, I respond with a story:

Wendell Willkie was the Republican Partys nomination for the 1940 presidential election. He was a charismatic businessman, and a fearless campaigner. Franklin Roosevelt, who had decided earlier not to run for the election, was persuaded to, evidently upon seeing the coming struggle and believing that he would make the best leader for the country during it. Willkie lost, of course, but the story of what happened after the election is amazing:

Willkie's lasting service to the nation, however, came after his defeat, and after America's entry into World War II. Almost immediately after the election, Willkie made it clear to Roosevelt that he would support the administration's war efforts, and Willkie became an outspoken opponent of Democratic and Republican leaders who wanted to return America to its pre-World War II isolationism.

In August 1942, FDR asked Willkie to make an airplane flight around the world as his special envoy to show the world that although America was engaged in a vigorous political debate at home, she was united in her desire to combat fascism throughout the world. What better way to do so, Willkie and FDR reasoned, than to have the President's political opponent make a goodwill tour of America's allies. Willkie's 50-day trip included stops at battle zones in Africa, the Soviet Union and China, which he reported on in a radio speech to the nation soon after he returned[7]

How far a cry is this from He betrayed this country? How far a cry is this from the war is lost? How far a cry is this from General Betray Us? It is further than one can imagine. I confess I dont know much about Wendell Willkie outside of that story. But I do know that what he did here was remarkable. It was remarkable from a standpoint of honor. It was remarkable from a standpoint of patriotism. It was remarkable from a standpoint of morality. Here was a man who had respect for his country, a man who knew that even though he might disagree with who was in power, it was his duty as an American to support the chosen authority. (I dont know if he was a Christian, but to those of us that are, this is important from that standpoint as well).

If only Americas pundits, talk-show hosts, and politicians could show that kind remarkable honor, patriotism, morality and respect.