Are You An Extremist?

Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?

That quote is one of the more famous observations of the late great George Carlin. I actually often think of that quote while on the road as a reminder to myself to not fall into the trap of being judgmental about others whose driving habits don't exactly mirror my own.

However, I don't typically think of it as being necessarily applicable to other areas of life... until yesterday. What happened yesterday? Glad you asked. I got an e-mail from my brother which included an accusation that:

"(you) parrot out extreme left wing viewpoints (and therefore are) an idiot"

Now, how exactly do you refute such a charge? One's instinct it to inquire as to who exactly is an extremist out of such people whom I admire (in policy and media - listed alphabetically):

Stephen Colbert
David Gergen
Melissa Harris-Perry (column: Fighting For Change, Longing For The Sea)
Simon Johnson
Ezra Klien
Paul Krugman (op-ed: Republicans War on Math)
Rachel Maddow (segment: Obama Risks Compromising the Presidency)
Bill Maher
Keith Olbermann
Nouriel Roubini (interview: with Charlie Rose)
Robert Shiller
Eliot Spitzer
Jon Stewart (YouTube: final speech at Rally To Restore Sanity)
Joseph Stiglitz
Fareed Zakaria (YouTube: comments regarding the "Ground Zero Mosque")

And, as I may have mentioned on this site before, I actually respect David Brooks and, to some extent, even David Frum.

And is Defense Secretary Robert Gates a left-wing extremist? I really like what he has had to say about defense spending, military intervention in the Middle East, DADT, etc.

Anyway, maybe faced with such an inquiry, my brother picks a couple he considers extremists (and who are we kidding? Olbermann and Maher are going to get tagged)... maybe others?

Maybe he accuses, for example, Robert Shiller (although to be honest, I suspect my brother has as much chance of knowing who won the bronze medal in the Hammer Throw at the 1976 Olympics as he does of knowing anything of significance about Mr. Shiller). Now I know from watching Mr. Shiller on Charlie Rose that he advocates mandatory tax increases on the wealthy when the inequality index rises. Does that opinion make him an extremist? I'd say "no" - but who am I to judge? I suspect it's not an idea that would poll well with the American people. Does that, by definition, make it extreme? I say 'no'... it merely makes it unpopular (at least temporarily so). Moreover, the same brother accusing me (sort of) of being an extremist is a long-time advocate of the Fair Tax. This is a policy proposal recently referenced by Rachel Maddow as something like "a fringe, Right-Wing idea" (I can't find the actual quote just now... hopefully I will!).

Is she right? Maybe, but not necessarily. It is her opinion. Is the Fair Tax "extreme"? Maybe... who am I to say? I can define it as "extreme" by my own standards, but that is all those standards are: mine and mine alone.

So, back to the beginning. My concern is that many people are falling into a trap where they define people in their own party who are closer to the center as, well not necessarily "idiots" per se, but rather, in conservative circles, they talk of RINOs (a common charge against Meghan McCain for example); liberals and progressives might label their centrists as "corporatists" and/or the more blunt "sell outs" (I'm looking at you Mary Landrieu, Ben Nelson, Max Baucus, Evan Bayh, etc).

I suppose if there is one thing that we should all agree with: Joe Lieberman is a worthless piece of shit.

And then people further from the center become "wing-nuts" and/or "extremists". I, of course, cannot and/or should not speak for the mainstream Right, but one has to assume they're embarrassed by the likes of Michelle Bachmann, Steve King, Louie Gohmert, Allen West, etc.

So, I don't know. I guess all I can say is if Fareed Zakaria is considered an extremist: consider me an extremist.