Editor, Manteca Bulletin,

Over a decade ago, the political rhetoric in this country went from tolerable to asinine.  People are fighting over issues without understanding the cause and effect of whatever the argument is about.  Currently, tax rates for individuals and corporations, and jobs are the biggest concerns.  Both are interconnected. 

Nevertheless, why are we so divided on these two issues?  I believe the media drives this divide.  Not the mainstream media, but party ideology specific media -namely those that push the left and right ideological agendas.  These media outlets have a vested interest in growing this divide.  They make millions of dollars of income by giving you the “news” that is divisive.  I listen very carefully to both sides and try to understand how they are manipulating the “facts” so that the “truth” is presented in a manner that “proves” the other side is a liar.  These commentators prove the old axiom, “Statistics do not lie, but liars use statistics” is alive and well.  They will twist the meaning and understanding to the point you will make poor decisions which yield horrific results.  We see this in the way the government is run and the direction the country is going. 

Those at the grassroots level who are continuing the logic that these pundits espouse is engrained in the rebuttals of the Manteca Bulletin’s website comment section.  The responses are filled with insults and lies.  Replying has become an exercise in the art of finding any item which the writer can use to prove a person is an idiot.  Are you as tired of this as I am?

 As an engineer, I learned a long time ago that when I ask questions to solicit an understanding of the other engineer’s idea or ask probing questions that force the engineer to explain the concept in-depth, I get to the best answer possible.  I rarely hear any of the MB respondents quote any basic theory of economics on these comment blogs.  Discussions based on trade-offs or cause and effects do not happen in our debates.  How can we solve the issues if we do not try to understand the cause and effect of our political beliefs?  It is time to go back to the basics and bring theory and objective reasoning into the conversation. 

The Manteca Patriots is a non-partisan organization that is striving to be educational in nature, and most importantly, objective.  If you want some good clear information come to our Manteca Patriots meeting on Thursdays, at 7:30 p.m.  Come add to the conversation and debate.  When you make decisions based on faulty logic, you get disastrous results.  The Manteca Patriots expect you to leave your ego and partisan politics at the door.  We expect you to come with an open mind, knowing that you are not an expert in your understanding, but willing to listen to those that have the knowledge.  We will bring the experts in to present an unbiased view point focused on learning the trade-offs, or the cause and effects of an issue. 

David Marks
Manteca Tea Party
Sept. 20, 2011