On my inadequate thought process

Okay, so I found myself in an, er, enthusiastic discussion with a certain retired Marine with about a thousand kids currently in the Corps and a huge chip on his shoulder. And I really have come to terms with the fact that, in the eyes of the Republican party, I am the embodiment of evil. Now, anyone who knows me has heard me rant about what it truly means to love America – I’ll post on that at some point for those who haven’t heard it but, for some reason, want to. Obviously, the Right doesn’t see patriotism the same way I do, and there are definitely a few other areas where our thought processes just don’t meet. The retired jarhead in question found himself staring down the business end of the following rant:

My problem is only that I've honestly and sincerely tried to think the way you do, and I can't. I’ve tried so very, very hard to understand your perspective, but it's just not working.

I'm so truly jealous of your thought process. It must be so easy and comforting to see in such absolute shades of black and white. I can't, and I guess that's just a sin of the Left. I don't understand how you can know who to hate and fear just on the basis of their religion. I don't understand how you can take a religion that's 95% good people and 5% bad and call it evil and hateful; I don't understand how you can read the Koran, with all those passages about charity and a forgiving God and the wisdom of Jesus and the way your religion doesn't matter as long as you love God and do good deeds, and from that gather a religion of hatred and intolerance.

I don't understand how you can ascribe nothing but wicked motives to the leadership of the Left but assume that the motives of the Right are absolutely pure and without blemish. I don't understand how you can think that a human being, a person with a soul, can actually want to see a person die just to further a political agenda. I don't understand how you can automatically assume that the media are lying and/or biased just because you don't like their coverage. I don't understand how you can say that Democrats hate Christianity just because they want each person to make that decision on their own, and because the first amendment says that the government can't like Christians more than anyone else.

My mind just doesn't work that way, and when I try, I get so incredibly frustrated and so incredibly upset. And that's why I'm giving up, because I'm not so stupid that I don't recognize when something just isn't working. I apologize for wasting your time; it won't happen again.

Anyone who might be able to help me out on any of those is welcome to give it the ol’ college try. I’d really like to understand, because I feel that understanding is the key to not thinking that these people are freaking lunatics. Feel free to shoot me some suggestions under Comments. Anyone. Please. I'm begging.