Misunderestimators, Inc.

[VioletLake]

Republicans have an unfortunate tendency to "misunderestimate" their adversaries. That is, they demonstrate a propensity to misunderstand and underestimate their adversaries. They are chronic misunderestimators. Their CEO, Mr. Dubya, deserves credit for - inadvertently - coining this useful portmanteau word to describe their weakness.

Misunderstandings flow naturally from the flawed Republican psyche. They don't understand their adversaries because they don't understand themselves. They simply don't get the meaning of being human. For a variety of reasons, they avoid developing an authentic spiritual connection with life.

Perhaps this explains why most of them fall into two camps: those who negate the value of spirituality, and those who replace it with a ritual simulation. The problem is that authentic spirituality can be costly, difficult to develop, and equally difficult to appraise. It's much easier - and certainly less expensive in the short run - to negate it, or replace it with a religious prescription.

A deficit of authentic spirituality is the flaw in the Republican psyche. It produces a stunted character prone to misunderstanding and underestimating other people. Is it any wonder that their club for chronic misunderestimators is incapable of solving problems that demand the attention of people who understand and respect humanity? Does it come as a surprise that their "solutions" actually make problems more difficult to solve?

Four years of absolute Republican rule have been disastrous for America. Hopefully, it'll end tomorrow.