September 2003

Five Sleazy Pieces
Political Notes

1. There is no need for fan-fair, people! By Grandpa
On "Fox News Sunday", the host guy said, in his final remarks, that he was proud of Americans for their "help each other" attitude in the aftermath of the hurricane. My response? Whoop-dee-doo! What is so damn impressive about neighbors being neighborly? What's so amazing about people cleaning up the mess in their yards? Isn't it just what people always do?

The host guy continued by asking "pundits" to start giving Americans more of the benefit of the doubt from here on out. That's what knocked me out of sorts. The reason most pundits don't give Americans the benefit of the doubt all that often is because we have yet to give them a reason to do so. Am I wrong?

Daily, people find reasons to keep to themselves. Their jobs, families and personal demons keep them from being a more productive member of society. Most of us find time every so often to complete a good deed. Those of us who belong to a church or civic group get our deeds done in large groups - pulling only enough weight to be noticed. Most of the rest of our time, we Americans think of reasons to NOT help those in need.

I'm not going to poo-poo the people who shared fridge space with their neighbors, but where are those people on a daily basis while inner cities in America turn to shit? Where is the great American helping-hand in the cold of winter? Recently, the great American helping hand has been busy electing representatives to federal, state and local offices to cut aid to the needy. The subtle (subtle AND larger, more destructive and harmful) problems, such as poverty and drug abuse, do not get the anonymous helping hand. Those problems are left behind - they are too big, and will be there tomorrow.

For the most part, we leave those big problems for another day, year or generation. You can't cheer the American, much less human, spirit, just because a FEW of us help our immediate neighbors in the days immediately after a storm hits. We need to do better than that.

I know that it's the job of the corporate news-man to make Americans feel good about themselves, but this country needs to be shamed of itself for more than it needs to be propped up. The next time we talk, ask me for something you should be ashamed of - I'll hook you up.

2. Book Stores Are Full of Hatred, I Swear by Grandpa
Recently, I went to a book store. It's been a while - maybe the first time in years (not counting Christmas shopping.) I could hardly believe the books in the "Politics" section. Nearly 2/3 of the books were specifically about how 'liberals' are ruining America. Sure, I read about this in the papers, and it's all over the tee-vee, but I thought the people were only talking about the most notable books - not all of them.

Here is a list: Sean Hannity's "Let Freedom Ring: Winning the War of Liberty over Liberalism"; Ann Coulter's 'Treason" and "Bias"; Laura Ingraham's "Shut Up and Sing: How Elites from Hollywood, Politics, and the UN are Subverting America"; Tammy Bruce's "The Death of Right and Wrong: Exposing the Left's Assault on Our Culture and Values". That's just a start. I'm not including G. Gordon Liddy, Bernard Goldman, Michael Savage, Charlie Daniels (what the fuck?), Rush and David Limbaugh, Ted Nugent, or Bill O'Reilly.

Sure, there are a few left-leaning books out there in competition with the onslaught from the right. Al Franken, Jim Hightower, Michael Moore, Joe Conason, and Eric Alterman, but they were not all represented on this particular book shelf.

The impression one might get from looking is that either the liberals have recently been caught ruining America, or that the liberal-bashing racket is the biggest game in the book selling word. Jeez, there are so many damn books out there purporting to be clear, honest commentary, when they are no more than long-hand versions of right-wing radio call-in shows. I've read not one of the books mentioned here (neither left nor right) so I don't know if they each have a different point to make, or if they are all making the same point with slightly different words. I can't help but wonder how long the we-hate-the-liberals book racket can make money.

3. Dumb in Colorado by Grandpa
How over-the-top is the Right's hatred of the Left? Look at this article - http://hnn.us/articles/1678.html - and you'll see. Even as I write this, I have trouble believing it.

4. Dumb in Colorado by Godzilla
Seriously, that's some straight up bullshit. Besides, isn't half the work of learning the job of the student? I think a college student is perfectly capable of questioning what he sees in front of him. In fact, that's what he's supposed to do.

Additionally, this policy wouldn't apply to anything, really, other than political science, history, and economics. Is there even a conservative point of view to literature or music or French?

It would seem that conservatives are pissed off that smart people, especially academians, tend to be more liberal leaning. It must have something to do with all that questioning that rigorous academics demands. At any rate, it seems that western conservatives are pissed off and using their usual dumb guy tactics to convince the dumb people that voted for them that parents should pay exorbitant fees to have dumb people teach their children.

This is possibly the worst policy idea in the history of American education since "separate but equal". At this rate it won't matter that Social Security is gone in 50 years, because nobody will even know how to count.

5. GOP World View Syndrome by Godzilla
Dick Cheney is still insisting that Iraq is connected to 9/11. Even after his "boss", George W. Bush admitted that there was no connection. This has to make me wonder about Dick Cheney. Is he insane? Does he believe his own lies? What could be motivating him to continue telling such stupid lies?

I am fairly sure that this is indicative of a thinking syndrome present in many republicans and all neoconservatives. Maybe this should be called the GOP World View Syndrome. This is when a large group of people believe what they want in spite of clearly presented fact, or believe what makes them feel most comfortable without any evidence to back it up.

We see this syndrome at work at epidemic proportions with the sales of many conservative books, most notably anything by Ann Coulter. This woman attended a few history classes during her schooling and has managed to nail down a few dates and names, but everything thing else she makes up. Of course, she might by the ultimate cynic and is just writing what she knows will sell to loud-mouthed conservative pricks from coast to coast. But that doesn't invalidate my point.

This lack of critical thinking skills is also dramatically demonstrated in the intellectual voracity of our current president. G. W. Bush has often claimed that he doesn't really bother to read the newspaper, and gets most of his news from his aids. This right here should be enough to result in a landslide election against him, but it won't. I am amazed that Americans would put up with having a leader who has no interest in what is going on in the world and gets his info from people who just tell him what he wants. Does George Bush even know that the economy is in the dumper, and the they unemployment situation is getting totally out of hand? I actually kind of doubt it. And to him it doesn't matter, because he has a core constituency who also doesn't seem to give much of a damn about the world we actually live in.

I am sickened by this kind of thinking. Trying to hard to bend and filter reality to conform to your world view is a dangerous kind of pathological condition. It's the same kind of piss-poor reasoning that forced the pope to condemn Copernicus, though the logic and evidence supporting a heliocentric solar system is overwhelming. The kind of mind that cannot accept change or even re-evaluation is the mind of a zealot. A zealot cannot accept compromise, and that's not the kind of people that should be allowed to lead a diverse and democratic people. The difference between a leader and a ruler is immeasurable.