Conspiracy Easier than Believing You Were Wrong August 14, 2006
Posted by danjeffers in Anti-Americans, The World Outside the Beltway.add a comment
Why do so many people believe the US Government had something to do with the destruction of the World Trade Center? Polls keep saying the number is ridiculously high. High enough that it can’t be accounted for with the usual “there’s always going to be a few crackpots” explanation.
Some people just like to have opinions that piss other people off, of course. I might not believe that, say, Bill Parcels is a closet pet abuser. But if you’re a Dallas fan and you ask me if I really think that’s true, maybe I’ll say yes. Many people are angry enough at the current government that they’ll check whatever box on a survey is most likely to piss that government off.
I don’t think that’s all of it though. An overwhelming number of people in this country supported the ill-concieved invasion of Iraq. They enjoyed the pleasure of victory when things went well, and the anger of righteous outrage when things went poorly. Now that almost everyone realizes it was a bad idea, people have to reconcile their own past feelings. The unfortunate truth is that there was plent of reason to doubt all along. But nobody wants to admit that, it’s easier to just go all the way and accuse the administration of something so henious, so overwhelmingly duplicitious, that it “explains” their own feelings in going along with the invasion.
Islamic Fascism, like Moral Majority, is Neither August 11, 2006
Posted by danjeffers in Anti-Americans, Culture and Subversion, The World Outside the Beltway.2 comments
It was bad enough when Fox News and the usual array of illiterate bloggers used the term: “Islamic Fascists”. The term makes no sense, Fascism comes from the idea of a tightly bound bundle of sticks, and was used by Hitler and Mussolini to describe a powerful union of State and business, all working together. It has come to mean a totalitarian state that controls the military and industry, dictating not only behavior but thought.
Al Quaida is undeniable evil, Islamic only by self-description, but it’s hardly Fascist. In fact, the power of Islam comes from its very disconnected, underground, barely coordinated nature. Cells exist independently, aware of each other only through distant communications and common viewing of websites and media.
But Fox News and their accompanying columnists are beyond education, so it’s no big deal that they started using the term. Now, though, the President of the United States has used it, and once again we are showing the world our inability to grasp the concepts behind the words coming out of our own mouths. No wonder they doubt our ability to understand others.
