Do you feel as though things would be more pleasant if people were more respectful towards political parties?

I was raised in a very liberal, mostly atheist background (though I did attend a Catholic school); I guess it would clarify matters to mention that I am Canadian. My father is the sort of person who would call very conservative republicans stupid, and he believes that the reason there is such dissent against Obama's presidency is because they are racists. Now, I am personally a very liberal person and I am a supporter of Obama, who I feel has done everything he said he would - however, I disagree with his belief that republicans are opposed to him because they are racist, or that they are generally unintelligent. I think the main reasons republicans are against Obama is because they are uncomfortable paying taxes to support the health care of impoverished people, that he is intent upon spending more money in an attempt to stimulate the economy, and that he is trying to weaken the American arsenal (in order to influence others to do the same). I personally like to cut the president some slack and say that, like anybody who has to run a country, his job is extremely challenging and time-consuming, and he is only human. But at the same time, I empathize with the concerns of the republicans, whose perspective I respect even if I disagree with it.