Thursday, September 07, 2006
Credulous and Ignorant Fanatics
George Orwell in his novel "1984" described the ideal qualities for a member of the Party (i.e., the Party symbolized by Big Brother): "Even the humblest Party member is expected to be competent, industrious, and even intelligent within narrow limits, but it is also necessary that he should be a credulous and ignorant fanatic whose prevailing moods are fear, hatred, adulation, and orgiastic triumph."
Isn't that such an apt description of all those fear-mongering and hate-spewing pundits such as Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, Michelle Malkin, and all their imitators and other boot-licking "conservative" toadies who wax in adulation of the virtues of making war in Iraq, fighting terrorists, increasing the power of the President so he can do whatever he believes is right to "protect" Americans by creating secret government programs and operations with no oversight from any other branch of government, and diminishing the freedom and civil rights of all Americans, and who triumphantly and orgiastically proclaim the victory of their ideas over those morally-bankrupt and godless "liberals" who have the audacity to question whether the war in Iraq has anything to do with the so-called War on Terror, whether the President may be arrogating to himself powers that are not provided in the U.S. Constitution, and who have the audacity to be concerned about protecting and preserving the rule of law and the U.S. Constitution?
Are there such credulous and ignorant fanatics in the so-called "liberal" camp? I am certain there are an equal or greater number than on the "conservative" side. James Carville? Al Franken? Frank Rich? Randi Rhodes? Maureen Dowd? Sidney Blumenthal? Paul Begala? Do they have the kind of self-righteous, snide, sneering, bombastic, and belligerent demeanor exhibited by Hannity or O'Reilly for example? Does one's opinion of their demeanor depend on the extent to which you agree with the points of view they express?
Isn't that such an apt description of all those fear-mongering and hate-spewing pundits such as Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, Michelle Malkin, and all their imitators and other boot-licking "conservative" toadies who wax in adulation of the virtues of making war in Iraq, fighting terrorists, increasing the power of the President so he can do whatever he believes is right to "protect" Americans by creating secret government programs and operations with no oversight from any other branch of government, and diminishing the freedom and civil rights of all Americans, and who triumphantly and orgiastically proclaim the victory of their ideas over those morally-bankrupt and godless "liberals" who have the audacity to question whether the war in Iraq has anything to do with the so-called War on Terror, whether the President may be arrogating to himself powers that are not provided in the U.S. Constitution, and who have the audacity to be concerned about protecting and preserving the rule of law and the U.S. Constitution?
Are there such credulous and ignorant fanatics in the so-called "liberal" camp? I am certain there are an equal or greater number than on the "conservative" side. James Carville? Al Franken? Frank Rich? Randi Rhodes? Maureen Dowd? Sidney Blumenthal? Paul Begala? Do they have the kind of self-righteous, snide, sneering, bombastic, and belligerent demeanor exhibited by Hannity or O'Reilly for example? Does one's opinion of their demeanor depend on the extent to which you agree with the points of view they express?
Stumble It!