|
Up to the minute notes on the current state of free thinking and free living: Kentucky moonshine - original analysis and reporting from MoreThings, and all round pop culture museum of sight and sound - photo galleries, mp3 and video downloads.
Al Barger and MoreThings - getting people's goats since 1998.
Live free or die!
----
|
November 22, 2005
Chris Matthews and Liberal Articles of Self Delusion
Chris Matthews is a swell fellow. On a personality level, he seems like he'd be a loyal friend, good neighbor, and someone who would be fun to go out with for drinks. Further, he's a smart fellow who knows a lot about politics and the machinations of government from the inside and out.
Yet he ends up talking frequently like a blithering idiot. He knows when he's doing it too, cause he saves his most prime foolishness for places other than in front of Hardball cameras.
For example, consider some of his reported remarks made 11-20-2005 to political science students at the University of Toronto. From the Edmonton Sun:
The period between 9-11 and Iraq was not a good time for America. There wasn't a robust discussion of what we were doing.
For starters, "there wasn't a robust discussion" is an utterly ridiculous thing to say. It's just not even vaguely or arguably an even half reasonable thing to say. We jawboned this thing for over a year. We had a very clear vote in Congress right before having a big ol' election, giving the public plent of opportunity to turn the bums out if they didn't like their votes. This is a particularly silly claim for Chris Matthews to make, as he had that robust discussion going on his show every night.
Right here's the money quote, a central tenet of liberal condescension:
If we stop trying to figure out the other side, we've given up. The person on the other side is not evil. They just have a different perspective. The smartest people understand the enemy's point of view, because they understand what's driving them.
Right here is THE biggest place where Matthews and other liberal types make their most crucial mistake. This is a critical article of faith, simply refusing to believe in evil.
No Mr Matthews, it's not that we aren't trying to understand the minds of our enemies. It's that we've pretty well figured some of them out, and they are in fact wicked and evil, and need to be put down like vicious stray pit bull mutts. Some of our opposition consists of at least half reasonable folks with whom we can try to work- but many of them are malicious and sadistic. They like to hurt people, and the only thing that will work is death therapy.
Frankly, this is an OBVIOUS point. There are certainly reasonable arguments about how worthwhile it was to go after these particular schmucks in Iraq as we did. Exact targets and techniques are surely debatable. But describing radical Islam as simply "a different perspective" is utterly ridiculous.
Why would anyone say something like "the person on the other side is not evil" when talking about the likes of Saddam Hussein? That's not just an unsupported claim, but one flying directly in the face of TONS of evidence of which Chris Matthews and everyone else is highly aware.
At some point, this is just willful dishonesty. Yes, I'm sure Chris Matthews has talked himself into believing it, but that does not make it any less dishonest. That just means that he's lying to himself.
As Robert Heinlein noted, self-deception is the root of all evil.
posted by Al at 11/22/2005 12:58:00 AM
Link Soup
morethings master
photo gallery index
MP3
new album
releases
lyrics
sammy davis
little richard photos
buddy holly pictures
fats domino images
chuck berry pictures 01/
02/
03/
04/
05/
06/
07/
08/
09/
10/
11/
12/
01/
02/
03/
04/
05/
06/
07/
08/
09/
10/
11/
12/
01/
02/
03/
04/
05/
06/
07/
08/
09/
10/
11/
12/
01/02/
03/
04/
05/
06/
07/
08/
09/
10/
11/
12
01/
02/
03/
04/
05/
06/
07/
08/
09/
10/
11/
12/01/
02/
03/
04/
05/
06/
07/
08/
09/
10/
11/
12/08/
09/
10/
11/
12/
la
24
lucille ball images james
blunt photos
clint eastwood pictures lena
horne images team
america pictures
robert mitchum photos
bruce springsteen pictures
mariah carey pictures
ann coulter photos
george clooney images
loretta lynn pictures
beatles pictures
white stripes pictures
andy griffith pictures
kill bill pictures
beverly hillbillies pictures
robin williams
frank zappa pictures
jerry lee lewis pictures
richard pryor photos
june carter johnny cash pictures
vic mackey shield pictures u2 photos
four seasons images
james cagney images
elvis presley pictures
country music
blog
dolly parton pictures
olsen twins photos
tom petty photos
tori amos pictures
joaquin phoenix images David
Bowie photos
Quills movie images
reese witherspoon pictures rolling
stones photos
fiona apple images kim
novak images ray charles photos marx
brothers pictures
prince rogers nelson pictures blazing
saddles images
sinead o'connor images
eddie murphy photos aretha
franklin photos
south park pictures homer
simpson images
bob dylan pictures elizabeth
taylor photos madonna
images
saturday night live pictures willie
nelson images hee
haw pictures james
brown images pete
townshend photos
tina turner pictures
dixie chicks photos
margaret thatcher photos
guns
n roses pictures
paula abdul pictures
jodie foster photos
amy winehouse
eminem
frank sinatra photos
van
halen images
satan
blondie photos
joni
mitchell pictures
merle haggard
images
rocky horror pictures
monty
python
|
|
