Likewise, I'm sure.

"Don, you shine, when you stick to music!!"

Implying, I presume, that I don't know what I'm talking about when it comes to politics, so I should just shut up and stick to music?

Did you take any Civics classes when you were in high school? The teacher of my high school history and civics classes acted as faculty advisor for a group of students who got together after school one afternoon a week for a discussion of current events. I was one of those students for two years.

Ever take any Political Science and/or Economics courses in college?   Philosophy? Ethics?

Have you ever read Plato's Republic? What was Plato's stance on the idea of democracy? For or against?

How about Thomas Hobbes? John Locke? Baruch Spinoza? Or the writings of Thomas Paine? Or James Madison?

Or Alexis de Tocqueville's monumental two volume work, Democracy in America?

More recent: Modern Political Philosophies by Louis Wasserman, a concise encyclopedia of the principles and characterists of the world's political systems and their philosophical and economic bases. Good reference book, but a bit dated now.

Excellent little book: First Democracy: The Challenge of an Ancient Idea, by Paul Woodruff. A description of Athenian democracy, how it worked (remarkably well, in fact!), and how it did not work (and how to fix it). The book contains a highly thought-provoking final chapter or afterword, entitled, "Are Americans Ready for Democracy?" Easy, fast read and very enlightening. Highly recommended!

A perusal of some of the works of George Lakoff (a linguist rather than a political writer) gives one a great deal of insight into the way political thinkers (and non-thinkers!) manipulate language in an effort to (of course!) manipulate the opinions of others.

There's a lot of that going on here on these Mudcat threads. It's a fascinating demonstration of some of the things Lakoff talks about to see the way many people use political labels while not having the foggiest notion of what the terms mean!

Have you ever worked on a political campaign? I have;   a number of times, having to do with both national and local candidates and issues.

Also, I am on old geek. I remember presidents, congressmen, and political campaigns (and the convolutions of rhetoric) from many decades ago. From FDR up to the present.

No, I don't think anyone could characterize me as "politically naïve." If anything, some people consider me a royal pain in the ass because I'm pretty good at identifying political pettifoggery, whether it be from national politicians, streetcorner campaigners, or blog-addicted mynah birds who frequent the BS threads here on Mudcat.

Note:   I do not belong to a political party.

Am I a political "rebel?" That depends upon where the person accusing me of that is coming from. I have well thought out and firm (but open to new input) ideas about political principles and ethics and, in general, how a free and open democracy should operate—to the maximum benefit of ALL it's citizens. To the plutocrat who is trying to get even richer by screwing as many people as possible, I'm undoubtedly a rebel. But to me, HE's the rebel, even if he IS the CEO of a multinational corporation. So it's a wash.

Another one to read:   William L. Schirer's, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. How did Hitler's Germany get that way? What were the dynamics involved? Could it happen again somewhere else?

Have you read what Benito Mussolini wrote about the relationship between the Corporations and the State in a Fascist government?

And what HE thought the Fasces, the symbol of a bundle of sticks tied around a battle-ax, actually symbolizes?

He oughtta know!

Fascinating! Scary! Think about it!

Don Firth

P. S. It's hard to "brainwash" someone who knows where his towel is.*

*See Douglass Adams, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.