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Edited on Wed Jun-29-11 12:27 AM by 20score
who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it." The Peter Principle (1969)
The quote, which is sometimes misattributed to Mark Twain, is witty; and what can be inferred from it is true. Some of the people in charge are imbeciles, true believers in their cause, and some are smart people who knowingly lie for greed, ideology or whatever reasons they call their own. Not that all leaders are bad, of course. That should go without saying, but I’ll say it anyway. There are many who are truly great and unselfish people who should be lauded for their work. (Bernie Sanders comes to mind.) But for the others, whether they get important things wrong because they don’t understand, or whether they get things wrong because they don’t care, they and their supporters should be challenged at every turn.
For at least thirty years the Republicans have been moving the debates further and further to the right. And each time the Democrats move to the right- and then meet them half way. The result is that now in the twenty-first century, the entire debate takes place in what was not too long ago, considered lunatic-land. Where reality, democracy and facts hold no sway. Consider the two sides of the budget debate now being brokered. One is terrible, the other is disgusting. How much to take from the needy and the poor? That’s what’s being discussed. And with one side asking if we could not give quite so much to the richest corporations. All this is taking place as if they didn’t know that many of our most profitable and largest corporations paid nothing in taxes last year. Nothing. Exxon, GE, Bank of America, all paid less than a receptionist in any of those companies paid by his or herself. Making corporations and the extremely rich pay their fair share of taxes – not on the table. Ending the Bush tax cuts, which according to a new CBO report would solve the deficit problem in five years - not on the table. The one budget proposal that would actually solve most of the country’s fiscal problems is not being discussed and most people don’t even know of its existence. It’s smart, creates a budget surplus by 2021 and filled with very popular ideas. Like ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s call the People’s Budget and was introduced in April by 83 members of Congress, and then completely ignored by the corporate media. Whenever popular and common sense ideas are brought out that could actually solve problems, but yet hurt the profits of a powerful corporation, however slightly, the people bringing out those ideas are either ignored or talked about in a snide tone of voice that dismisses them as unworthy of consideration. Too bad.
The debate about climate change along with debate on whether or not to teach intelligent design as science are two obvious examples of the imbecile/smart leader divide. There is no real debate about climate change. Over one hundred and fifty years ago John Tyndall discovered that carbon dioxide was a greenhouse gas. No one disputes that. No one disputes that we spew billions of tons of this greenhouse gas that has been sequestered for millennia into the atmosphere. Years before, scientists predicted certain changes in climate due to our putting carbon into the atmosphere; we are seeing those changes now. Yet the media allows a false debate to take place by people who are lying, or who have no clue concerning the science they are there to speak about. The top executives in the news outlets must know there is no debate. And the newspapers, magazines and television programs that allow this should be inundated by people tired of having their intelligence insulted.
The same goes for the false equivalence in the ‘religion as a science’ debate. Recently there was a film clip of Miss America contestants answering the question, “Should evolution be taught in schools?” With far too many answering either, ‘No’ or ‘As long as they teach the other side.’ There is no ‘other side.’ Not with science. Science is not the equal of religion. Just like fact is not the equal of opinion. The other side of creationism or intelligent design is other creation myths. Not science. Creationism and ID are by definition religions and by the same definition cannot be science. Partly because of a lazy, cowed or bought off media this false equivalence has been allowed to grow without serious challenge for years, with a result of millions of people not knowing the deference between science and religion.
Unfortunately, this has terrible consequences, not only for the future of our country’s doctors, scientists, etc, but also for the ability of millions to think critically. More vocal challenging of the media and our leaders when they outright lie or make a mockery of logic may not solve everything right away, but it does go to the root of so many of our problems.
Next week, the TSA and spying.
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