Stripes letter: Give him a ‘ditto head’

[lebkuchen]

Give him a ‘ditto head’

All I want for Christmas is one hour with a “ditto head.” Why? Having read letters to the editor over the past five years, I have noticed a recurring event: parroting.

I cannot find anyone who will admit to being a Rush Limbaugh listener. We have one of the most popular radio shows, but of the people I have asked, no one seems to want to admit being a fan. I once met a person who said they like to watch Bill O’Reilly, but would not admit to being a follower. They would, however, gladly make points that he had recently stated. The Big 3 neoconservative media stars — Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and O’Reilly — are frequently parroted in the letters written here, but no one admits to being a listener or follower of these people.

In “Reservist draws on war lessons for his day job as an Iowa lawmaker” (article, European edition, Oct. 12; “Reservist draws on war lessons in his day job: Iowa lawmaker,” Mideast edition) Iowa state Rep. Royd Chambers, who was serving as a staff sergeant in the Air National Guard on a three-month deployment to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, made a profound statement: “Folks can be very supportive of the military,” he said, “but if you haven’t been in the military, there is a lack of complete understanding about what kind of situation that is, what kind of lifestyle these people have, what kind of pressures are put on them, what kind of mission they have to perform.”

Not one of the Big 3 has served a day in the military. My desire is to know what are the thoughts of people who listen to the Big 3 and are willing to accept what they say. Their words are supportive, but they have been unwilling to do what Chambers has done. Somehow it seems that “parrot and hide” is a tactic for neoconservatives.

By the way, where are the rest of the “real” conservatives? I’d like to meet them, too.

Bill Hatchett
Nauheim, Germany


http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=125&article=32565