TightWind is written by Kyle Baxter. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Want to see first-hand what’s wrong with our political discourse? Exhibit A, courtesy of an otherwise-intelligent John Gruber:

To any American who isn’t happy about our president having won the Nobel Peace Prize: There is something wrong with you.

Don’t you just love how simple that is? Forget black and white, Gruber’s made it even more clear: there’s just something wrong with you if you disagree.

So that’s what it’s come to. You disagree, you’re just wrong — no thought needed, because you’re wrong and that’s it.

See, this isn’t how discussion works. There isn’t discussion when one side decides that, simply, the other side is absolutely wrong and not worth listening to.

The left got pissed off when, during the run-up to the Iraq war, many on the right labeled people opposed to the war as America-hating frenchmen, and thus they didn’t have to listen to them. And that’s precisely what happened. No one listened, they just yelled.

That wasn’t right. And neither is this. When you impugn the intentions of those you disagree with, the only thing that can happen is a breakdown in discussion. And when there’s no discussion, no one learns a damned thing other than how they can yell their dumb slogans louder. That’s how we breakdown as a nation.

So look, Gruber. What you said, and it’s quite representative of what others have said as well, is completely unacceptable. Judging by that statement, you’re not interested in the progress of our country. You’re simply interested in cheering on your team.

Parties aren’t teams, to be cheered on to victory and their enemies trashed at all opportunity. No party is right, no party is wrong. Politics isn’t a game. So don’t treat it like it is, because you’re participating in, and encouraging, the very thing just a few short years ago which you hated so much.