Truth is, I’m silent on most political issues around here because it’s no fun engaging in political debate when its 4-to-1. (Remember our gun-control talk? Loads of fun!) Besides, there’s not a lot of need for me to criticize anything liberal in these parts. Around here, Clinton (either one) is the devil, so what would be the point of my defending him/her? It would be an uphill battle, to say the least. Conversely, if Clinton did something wrong, who would hear my criticisms over the din of anti-liberal malice that is proliferated on talk radio and in the restaurants and coffee shops of Orange County? Even so, I recognize the fallibility of humanity, and I still believe it needs to be pointed out. If Gore screws up, I’ll talk about it. Indeed, during his recent scandal with the high electricity bill, I was going to blog on how hypocritical it was, and how sad it will be if people use his hypocrisy as an excuse to ignore global warming. But you beat me to it. So most of the time I wonder what’s the point.
Still, here’s a taste of my so-called silence on the issues:
-October 18, 2005: I reflected Bill Clinton's position that we shouldn’t demonize our political opponents. We were both speaking of Bush.
-October 25, 2005: I suggested it was ridiculous of the Canadian government to think that the U.S. could be responsible for Canada’s then-recent surge in gun-violence
-October 28, 2005: I criticized Rolling Stone’s myopic criticism of the political right to prove its points.
-November 5, 2005: I criticized the over-use of PC speak.
-December 17, 2005: I agreed with your post about the political left and right speaking past each other (perhaps we’re doing that now?)
-January 6, 2006: In my unread mission statement I said that, among other things, I believe the current Democrat party is the most poorly-planned, leaderless political party in memory.
-March 26, 2006: I criticized “V for Vendetta”’s transparent political agenda (though it was an essay on modern-day republicanism).
-May 9, 2006: Normally liberals defend those in the middle east; here, I condemn Iran for its atrocious human rights record.
-June 18, 2006: A fervent criticism of the Earth and Animal Liberation Front: fighting for causes I believe in, in ways I don’t believe in.
-August 17, 2006: “Let he who is without sin…” I was talking about blame-shifting, and pointedly stated that the left is equally guilty at blame-shifting.
And that’s in the public forum. Meanwhile, privately, I have criticized Michael Moore’s attack on Charlton Heston in his “Bowling for Columbine” movie, and condemned President Carter for his recent stance on middle east issues, among many other instances.
But I listen for a reaction and all I hear is silence, when Rush Limbaugh spouts insensitive comments about Michael J., nil on Robertson’s call to assassinate the leader of a sovereign nation (this is a supposed evangelist??? Conversion through death, Pat?) Truth is, I don’t hear a lot of criticism from within the parties. Mostly I get, “you think that’s bad? Check out the comments of these guys!” Hence your links.
As for denouncing specific points, I hadn’t heard about Maher’s comment about Cheney, but you should know that I think it’s wrong to wish death on someone else. I wouldn’t denounce the Bush/Hitler comparisons because there are worse things in the world than comparing the president to Hitler. Wishing death on him, that’s evil. Making comparisons about Bush and Hilter, that’s just inaccurate. For starters, Hitler was a teetotaler, and was very intelligent (at least until the late stages of his military campaign). But there are some reasonable comparisons that one can make, namely their mutual belief in the unassailable sovereignty of the home state, their tendency to see the world in white-and-black (instead of grey), their use of a national tragedy to justify the reduction of civil liberties and consolidate power, their invasion of a sovereign nation with little or no pretext. Is Gitmo an Aushwitz? Not even close. But it’s still a prison where humans can exist indefinitely without a fair trial, and where their minds are ‘broken’ using CIA brain-washing techniques.
Maybe the problem isn’t the silence on both ends; maybe the problem is that the right and left are so far disconnected that what you think is an outrageous statement, I might find innocuous, and vice versa.
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Consequently, some of those quotations were pretty heinous, especially considering their credible sources. Then again, there are the Farrakhan-type sources which hold no credibility (at least in my mind). I’ll say it again, to wish death on someone is to betray your ideology (that of equal human rights for everyone, even political bastards).
