Hyperbole

I received an e-mail this morning from a friend who is big GOP fan. I have included a portion of the original message below my response. I changed his name, in case this might bother him. I hope that I am wrong when I say that I think many people do not know when hyperbole is being employed, or even what it is:

Dear Friend,

The truth is somewhere in between conservative and liberal, maybe not even on the same plane of existence. I think that often we are asking the wrong question, making any answer at all irrelevant at best. The abortion issue is an example of an issue being over simplified to the point that it is about legality. I think that abortion is wrong. But do I think that making it illegal is going to solve the problem? There is a statistic that says that over half of global abortions happen in places where abortion is illegal. What does that say about the issue? That it is not the law that is going to make the difference. There are numerous studies that show that quality of life, poverty issues, can have a huge impact on abortion rates. So does Roe V. Wade really matter? Or should we take a longer view and see if improving people's lives makes a difference?

Your e-mail bothers me in that there is so little critical thinking these days that people are not going to even know that it is hyperbole. It is this rhetoric and hyperbole, taken as truth, that whips GOP rallies into frenzies to the point that they are calling to kill Barack Obama. How can anyone be okay with that? Yet Palin said NOTHING. It is irresponsible at best. It is encouraging the worst in people.

I am perfectly okay with conservatives having different view points than me. How they respond to my different views, the behavior is what really bothers me. The liberal and conservative are both needed, that way there is balance in the system. It is the interface that creates all the problem. Sorry for the rant. I figured this might clarify how I feel better than going through each of those statements in your e-mail, explaining a perfectly logical opposing view for each one. Thanks for including me on the list, it is good for me. I hope this e-mail does not come across angry, because I am not. I do get worked up a little though.

Grace and peace,

Aaron



----- Original Message -----
From: "xxxx"
To: "xxxx" , "xxxx" , "Dad" , "Aaron Harrell"
Sent: Thursday, October 30, 2008 9:49:41 PM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific
Subject: Fw: Why I'm Voting Democrat

I thought you might like this and sorry Aaron, I couldn't resist. Could be a small touch of hyperbole but some good, funny points also.


--- On Thu, 10/30/08, xxxx wrote:

> From: xxxx
> Subject: Why I'm Voting Democrat
> To: "xxxx"
> Date: Thursday, October 30, 2008, 9:32 PM
>

>
> PLEASE VOTE!
>

>
> 'Why I am Voting Democrat'
>
> I'm voting democrat because Barbara Walters is my
> idol and so is P.Diddy.
>
> I'm voting Democrat because English has no place
> being the official language in America .
>
> I'm voting Democrat because I'd rather pay $4 for
> a gallon of gas than allow drilling for oil off the coasts
> of America .
>
> I'm voting Democrat because I think the government
> will do a better job of spending my money than I could.
>
> I'm voting Democrat because when we pull out of
> Afghanistan and Iraq , I know the Islamic terrorists will
> stop trying to kill us because they'll think we're
> a good and decent country.
>
> I'm voting Democrat because I believe people who
> can't tell us if it will
> rain in two or three days, can now tell us the polar ice
> caps will
> disappear in ten years if I don't start riding a
> bicycle, build a windmill or inflate my tires to proper
> levels.
>
> I'm voting Democrat because it's alright to kill
> millions of babies as
> long as we keep violent, convicted murderers on death row
> alive.
>