Perplexity

I haven't written in ages because life was just too hectic and it didn't seem like anyone was reading/following this blog. My goal for this blog was (and still is) to provoke rational thought, and promote civil discourse on political philosophy. I am NOT looking for a forum to spew vicious thoughts or whine or rant about stoopid people in the media. Tempting though that can be...there's plenty of that out there. I wanted something different, something that would make someone say "hmm I hadn't thought of it that way before", or even "that doesn't make sense to me--here's why". But I didn't get much of that, so I let a lot of time go by.
But.
Now that the primaries are starting to ramp up and Obama's on TV all the time again, there's a lot of spewing going on from both sides of the aisle. And I am perplexed. I was talking with my husband about it last night, and the more we discussed WHY people have these knee-jerk reactions, I became...not quite frustrated....more like sadly puzzled. I just don't understand why people are so threatened by other people's opinions. I mean, disagree, fine! There's no need to jump at someone's throat or get snotty unless they make it personal first.
Allow me to share an example from twitter yesterday:

some lady:
How crazy are the Tea Baggers that they will vote Herman Cain for President. A man who owed a pizza parlor.

me:
really? you think that's crazy? have you ever tried to run a business and solve problems on the fly?

her:
Yeah....that's the same.

me:
I didn't say it's the same thing. But don't knock what you can't understand. Problem-solving is key to being a good leader.

her:
I understand problem-solving quite well. Thanks. You just made my point.

Do you see the oddness of this exchange? She responded with total sarcasm, without answering my question...and the "made my point" part...I don't even know what she's talking about! Maybe she had tweeted something earlier in the day that I unknowingly responded to, but it was just odd. And it bugged me for most of the evening, because there are so many other people out there who have those same knee-jerk reactions. She doesn't like Herman Cain because he's a conservative, and therefore mocks the fact that he was a businessman. But why?
Why is it so hard for people to just LISTEN to what candidates/representatives actually say, and respond to that specifically? Instead of spouting vague generalities and misinformation, say WHAT you disagree with, and WHY. Don't just call someone names. Personally, I think that just pegs you as someone who isn't informed, or is just repeating what they've heard from some talking head. Again, this applies to both sides. I hate it when right wingers call all Dems communists. But that being said, I've heard amazingly communist drivel come out of Nancy Pelosi's mouth. So I wouldn't disagree with calling her one...but I'm not going to hold that against every other Democrat in Congress. That's unfair.
Anyway, I guess you get my point. I exhort everyone to think before you react, when you hear a news story or someone else's opinion in politics. Don't revert to name-calling, just debate something logically (if you want to). Or admit you don't know enough about the subject to have a formed opinion.
I really hope we can have more civility as time goes on, not less.