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Edited on Wed Aug-31-11 12:56 AM by 20score
A statement like that covers a lot of moronic ground, so it’s not easy to out-dumb it. Have there been statements made that were more idiotic than this one, sometime in history? Most definitely. Even heard some myself -- just can’t think of any at the moment. It was made about a year ago by an acquaintance. It was in response to my answer, to his question, “So, what’s going on politically?” I checked to make sure he was serious and really wanted an answer. He assured me he did; he wanted to know. So I told him.
He believed all the economic problems of the nation had been solved and there was nothing left to worry about in that regard. He expected me to confirm his feelings. Instead I told him that although there have been minor improvements for the short term -this was a year ago, remember – in the long term, we were looking at more bad times to come. The Stimulus wasn’t big enough and the effect wouldn’t last. Derivatives were still basically unregulated and were bound to make any upcoming problems many times worse. Speculation on the futures market could and probably would, drive up prices on gas, food and other essentials. Nothing had happened in the tax code which will help the economy and we would most likely stay in Iraq and Afghanistan, despite the will of the people. Our trade policy was still geared to help mostly large multi-national companies and harm the average worker. I also mentioned that nothing had been done to bring good paying jobs with benefits back to this country. My answer was given calmly with a tinge of resignation and a little bit hopelessness, because that’s the way I felt at the time. His reaction took me by surprise. He got angry and made the above statement.
Accusing someone of being arrogant is very big on the right whenever facts won’t serve their purpose in an argument. Whether the topic is Social Security, global warming or economics, accusing someone of being arrogant is adult peer pressure. It’s the grown-up equivalent of, “What are ya, chicken?” Most adults don’t like to be charged with arrogance, any more than a ten year old likes to be called 'chicken.’ For the base, greedy, douche-bags selling propaganda, this is just another weapon in their arsenal. Along with lying and dividing people into us-and-them camps. My former acquaintance wasn’t using the term to intimidate me into changing my mind, but he did want me to think twice before voicing anything that challenged his worldview. This particular person could deny reality with the best of them, especially when his company stood to make money if his beliefs held true.
All across the propagandistsphere, (TM, me - as far as I know) pundits have been calling those who believe in climate change, “arrogant.” Larry Elders, Beck, Limbaugh, even CNN’s Chad Meyers have said that those who believe humans could have an effect on the earth’s temperature, are “arrogant.” Facts and science should be thrown out, because it’s obvious we are too insignificant to have an effect. Why go any further than that? You really think you’re that important? Bill O’Donnell of the Rockford Register said what so many others in the media, and those who follow their nonsense say almost every time the subject comes up, “It is, I believe, arrogant of mankind to think it can cause climate change.”
When Palin, O’Reilly or anyone else who is claiming to be just, ‘one of the folks’ uses the word, “elite’ they do not mean it as a compliment, and they certainly don’t mean to call the elite in question, ‘the cream of the crop.’ They say the word with an inflection in their voice that means those people think they are better than you. They are arrogant. Whatever they say is suspect at best and should be ignored. Who do they think they are? To think they know better than us – it’s arrogant. When an economist like Paul Krugman states that tax cuts will not stimulate the economy anywhere as effectively as direct government spending, well, he can be ignored because he’s a liberal elite and he thinks he knows better than you do. And that is arrogant.
Social Security is attacked in much the same way. If the lies about SS being broke and being a Ponzi Scheme are put forth and still haven’t had the desired effect, the deal closer is often an attack on those who would keep SS in its current form as being, arrogant. Are they saying these people are too stupid to plan for their own retirement? That pretty arrogant, don’t you think? The truth is the arrogance is on the side of those who think every dime on the planet should be theirs for the taking… or at the very least they believe they should get a cut. It is also arrogant to believe a layman - who has never read a word about or given any real thought to economics - knows as much as a Nobel Laureate. And it is also arrogant to believe that thousands of scientists are lying to you so that they can make a buck.
Time to hold up a mirror.
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