Letters to the Editor
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I thought it was just me...
Somehow these talking heads from the far right have managed to Jim Jones some really smart people. I know a number of them, close friends whom I love to death but anything about politics comes up and they might as well be pre-programmed Rush Limbaugh dolls. How the hell does this happen? People who in all other respects of their lives are critical thinkers turn into the Stepford Americans. It is a dangerous and fearsome problem. I had one of my best friends yell at me because there (according to him) is no way you can support our troops and not support the war in Iraq. ???? This guy is one of the most intelligent design engineers I know, and suddenly if the President says so, we are all supposed to follow blindly. Last time I checked that was a King or a Dictator, but maybe that's just me. I don't like the far end of either side, but at least the left isn't creating a bunch of screaming automatons with 'mind'-folds on.
P.S. Wil I'm guessing there won't be any wiffle ball in Montana next Christmas.
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Peace on earth, good will towards even Bill O'Reilly
Very nice, Wil: A mostly peaceful resolution to an out-of-bounds confrontation. I hope I'm as sane this weekend. Similar situation, but it's my older brothers and stepfather who can't seem to stop "Spin"ing, which leads to a technicolor regurgitation of the bile they've swallowed.
I've given up fighting the big issues -- it's easier and more productive just to take a nice long walk -- but when this so-called "War on Christmas" came up at Thanksgiving, I tried, gently, to probe exactly who is being denied the right to celebrate Christmas? And did they know what American group had succeeded in banning Christmas (the Puritans), and why? And why, exactly, did they experience such heartfelt reverence for Roman Saturnalia and Nordic winter holiday symbols?
But something ugly happened...so I took a nice long walk. The sun was shining.
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You are not alone, Wil
As I reflect on Wil Wheaton's essay, I notice that my own father's somewhat similar descent into virulent right-wing conservatism (and yelling) has some of the earmarks of joining a cult: repression of critical thinking, parroting of charismatic celebrities within the movement, giving away huge sums of money to "the cause," and refusing to associate with old friends because they don't share the same viewpoints.
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Family is the Real Enemy
Let's face it, O'Reilly is certainly guilty...Guilty of creating an Us vs. Them worldview that encourages over-the-top ranting and raving instead of rational dialogue, but were he an extreme left-winger, the damage would be the same.
My father is somewhere to the left of Fidel Castro, and had he been second-in-command during the Khmer Rouge, would have had Pol Pot summarily executed for being too lenient toward the rich. Just the same as Wil Wheaton can't have a reasonable dialogue with his father, I can't dare approach middle ground with mine - and I'm far more liberal than most! In my father's mind, if you only support Bush's impeachment that barely makes you a moderate. So where does one go from there?
It's the problem with politics of today from both right and left. Nobody wants to debate an issue or see anything good on the opposite site. If you're against the death penalty, then you might as well be a rapist yourself; if you join the Army, then you're a mercenary death merchant bought and paid for by Big Oil.
O'Reilly and his fellow goons know that argument and conflict bring people together at their most base level, so they keep spoonfeeding it out, and we keep lapping it up, and we're a little more scared to walk out the front door into a world where the mailman can become our bitterest enemy or most trusted ally based on what communal nutjob show we watched last night.
Fucking internet. Fucking cable TV. Information with no purpose. Just like the legendary Library of Alexandria...you know, the one that burned when the civilization fell.
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Then again...
How is Bill O'Reilly, or any other far right nutjob responsible for your father's opinion? Aren't you insulting your "intelligent" Dad by intimating that his mind can be so thoroughly manipulated by others?
Interestingly, the Reagan presidency that seemed to herald a change in your parents had the same affect on my father - in the opposite direction.
After voting Republican in several elections, Dad became a liberal democrat after hearing one of Reagan's incredibly obtuse, dismissive statements about this country's poor and disadvantaged.
A reporter asked Reagan what he thought about the poverty and drug dealing evident on the street just a short distance from the White House - Reagan (sans handler) replied: "I don't know. I don't know about it unless I can see it from this window."
Dad has voted the straight democratic ticket ever since.
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You gotta nip it in the bud
The best you can do is make it your life's mission to identify people who may be about to lose part of their critical thinking ability to the seductive, patriotic-sounding blather of talk radio (or any other type of reprogramming).
Before they've defined themselves as a pod person, take them out to lunch and after some polite conversation, launch into the no-spin talking point of the day by starting from a position of mutual agreement, and in the same breath lay out counter arguments that follow from there. Depending on the relationship, it may be harder to do with someone like a parent than a peer, but if you catch someone early enough in their indoctrination, a concerted effort and a series of gentle, well reasoned discussions should be very effective -- especially if you have a mutual friend who can help.
In my life, I've turned back three people who have Democratic values at heart but had waded into Green or Republican waters and were probably headed for the deep end. Big Lies by Joe Conason is a great source for anyone who wants to try it.
Jason
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The real war on Christmas
Gosh Will,
It's been getting to me so bad that I wrote this letter to the editor at my hometown newspaper, that coincidentally, appeared today:
http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051222/OPINION03/512220323/1014
I don't know what will happen at Christmas Dinner, but I am so tired of the abuse I get for just having a different opinion. We really need more people speaking up. We gotta break through the denial some way.
Keep it up!