Political assassinations have no place in a free society. Political and social revolutions, if they come at all, come from the soap box and the ballot box, not the ammo box. An attack on a duly elected member of congress is an attack on us all because it is an attack on the constitution and the free society that it makes possible. This man will be held accountable. Here in Arizona we have the death penalty, and he will surely receive it. It is unfortunate that he can only be executed once.
No one instructed this man to murder. To blame Fox News or other conservative outlets for his actions makes about as much sense as blaming Quake and D&D for the actions of the Columbine shooters, or Ramparts and The Nation for the actions of Kathy Soliah and others of her ilk.
Even if we were to momentarily entertain the ludicrous assertion that political speech causes violence, it must be noted that 300 million Americans are continually exposed to conservative arguments, ideas and sentiments, and yet only only man has acted to murder an elected official from the Democratic party. Making a cause and effect argument on that basis is not merely weak, it is dishonest.
Using a crisis to dishonestly demonize (and thereby silence) those with whom you disagree is a tactic that smacks of desperation and impotence. Those with strong and valid arguments to make don't need to resort to such measures. Those who seek to know and live with the truth do not fear ideas with which they disagree or seek to silence their expression. The truth is not found by obscuring disagreeable ideas or by twisting those ideas into misshapen caricatures in the hope they will be disregarded. The truth is born in the crucible of open debate where all ideas are honestly represented. When someone has to lie in order to "win" an argument, they are wrong. Worse than that, they have forsaken the honest pursuit of truth, which is man's fundamental task upon this earth.
Strong ideas stand on their own. They do not need to be shielded from competition, but are in fact strengthened by it. Neither are strong ideas undermined when those who champion them are slandered. So go ahead and blame Fox News and other conservative voices for the actions of this murderer. Doing so may score you points with those who share your political sentiments, but it will do nothing to convince anyone who does not. If you want to convince median voters to support your ideas, you will have to come up with persuasive arguments.
Attempting to connect this tragedy to Sarah Palin is especially peculiar. Why is the left so fixated on her? What makes her so special? Yeah, I'd like to do naughty things with her, but beyond that she's nothing to write home about. Her political career ended when she resigned as the governor of Alaska. She is unlikely to be elected to any other comparable office, let alone the presidency. Her value is as a political commentator, and she is only as successful in this as her words and deeds resonate with the public. In other words, she succeeds or fails in this role on the strength of her arguments. Attacking her for her NON-association with a political assassin and terrorist isn't going to convince anyone of anything except that you dislike her enough to paint her with any brush that is convenient regardless of how absurd it is.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
The original Moonbat strikes again
http://davidthompson.typepad.com/davidthompson/2011/01/new-crisis-detected.html
This man is evil. It does not surprise me that he exists, fools and scoundrels are not hard to find. What I do find shocking is that anyone, let alone a major newspaper, would actually PAY him to pontificate to the masses.
This is what the Guardian thinks is journalism?
There is one common impulse among leftists that most clearly defines them. They believe that human beings are created equal.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
We are, in any just society, provided equal rights and equal protection under the law. But that does not mean that we are endowed by our creator with the same capacities or the same character. Some people are smarter than others. Some people are stronger than others. Some are better looking. Some are inherently wiser for their age, and some are just plain lucky. The inevitable result of these differences is that some people have greater success in life than others. This is not a tragedy. It is not a moral failing in need of intervention. It is precisely as things should be. In fact, no other outcome is possible. You can muck about with the rules of society to artificially favor the dysfunctional all you please. The more capable will still find a way to win, and the less a way to lose. Meanwhile the freedom and equal rights that define a just society will be sacrificed, with misery and tyranny the inevitable result.
There are a few of course who, through inherited wealth, have had an easier time in some ways than others who have had to struggle. But such advantages are principally financial. Having money is great, but it will only get you those things that money can buy. True achievement comes from within and earns for the achiever the true riches that life has to offer. It must also be remembered that one person receiving a windfall through an inheritance does nothing to prevent others from achieving their own goals. The Kennedy family has millions, but whether they have that money, or don't, does nothing to change anyone else's situation. No one is made to fail because someone else was handed free money.
In England, as in any society that is even reasonably free and just, successful people are able to purchase more spacious homes if they choose. George Monbiot would have you believe that this is somehow wrong. It all goes back to this leftist's belief that human beings deserve an equal LIFE, as opposed to equal rights. This is impossible. Fortune favors the competent. It favors the virtuous. It favors the industrious.
This is why the left is evil. They wish to sacrifice our rights and freedoms to ensure that no one has it any better than anyone else. There is only one place where all are equal, and that is the grave. Till then some people are going to be better at the game of life than others.
This man is evil. It does not surprise me that he exists, fools and scoundrels are not hard to find. What I do find shocking is that anyone, let alone a major newspaper, would actually PAY him to pontificate to the masses.
This is what the Guardian thinks is journalism?
There is one common impulse among leftists that most clearly defines them. They believe that human beings are created equal.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
We are, in any just society, provided equal rights and equal protection under the law. But that does not mean that we are endowed by our creator with the same capacities or the same character. Some people are smarter than others. Some people are stronger than others. Some are better looking. Some are inherently wiser for their age, and some are just plain lucky. The inevitable result of these differences is that some people have greater success in life than others. This is not a tragedy. It is not a moral failing in need of intervention. It is precisely as things should be. In fact, no other outcome is possible. You can muck about with the rules of society to artificially favor the dysfunctional all you please. The more capable will still find a way to win, and the less a way to lose. Meanwhile the freedom and equal rights that define a just society will be sacrificed, with misery and tyranny the inevitable result.
There are a few of course who, through inherited wealth, have had an easier time in some ways than others who have had to struggle. But such advantages are principally financial. Having money is great, but it will only get you those things that money can buy. True achievement comes from within and earns for the achiever the true riches that life has to offer. It must also be remembered that one person receiving a windfall through an inheritance does nothing to prevent others from achieving their own goals. The Kennedy family has millions, but whether they have that money, or don't, does nothing to change anyone else's situation. No one is made to fail because someone else was handed free money.
In England, as in any society that is even reasonably free and just, successful people are able to purchase more spacious homes if they choose. George Monbiot would have you believe that this is somehow wrong. It all goes back to this leftist's belief that human beings deserve an equal LIFE, as opposed to equal rights. This is impossible. Fortune favors the competent. It favors the virtuous. It favors the industrious.
This is why the left is evil. They wish to sacrifice our rights and freedoms to ensure that no one has it any better than anyone else. There is only one place where all are equal, and that is the grave. Till then some people are going to be better at the game of life than others.
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