Americans

As a nation we call ourselves Americans. The name America was derived from the feminized Latin form of an Italian cartographer's name who was in the employ of the Portuguese exploring the coasts of what would presently be Brazil.

Next time someone tells you that they are Proud to be an American, share this.

What Do You Mean 'Tunnel Vision'?

Let me start with a disclaimer*: In no way do I mean for this to support one party over another. I offer this as an illustration of how we trap ourselves in the reality tunnels we wish to perceive.

Study this chart. What do you see? Do you draw any conclusions based on this data?

I shared this chart with working class individuals of various political persuasions to get their reactions. As expected, those who tend to favor Democrats see this as 'proof' that Republicans lie about the 'tax and spend' agenda of their favorite party.

Those who favor the Republican party did not respond as I expected. I expected them to dismiss the data, call it misleading, claim that Republican administrations inherited terrible budgets and got it all straightened out just in time for Democrats to come along, take all the credit, and then ruin it all over again. Instead I repeatedly got reactions so coherently summed up by one individual when he said...

Whoa! Obama sure didn't waste any time ruining our economy.

Turns out I have no comprehension of how the conservative mind works. Any ideas for research that can help me better understand this phenomenon?

*A posting that starts off with a disclaimer probably has a hidden agenda, offensive material, or both.