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Edited on Sat Jan-31-09 08:23 PM by 20score
A lot of people have been wondering for the past few years what makes some people susceptible to propaganda and others can readily see through it. Of course as with anything more complicated than a glass of water, there are many reasons for this fact of life, and I don’t want to get into why some choose to believe some things that defy logic and throw out obvious facts - at least not into the personal motivations of the individuals. But I do want to address those that have taken this country down a path that has caused the economic meltdown along with the war crime of the Iraq War. Because it’s obvious by the rantings of Rush Limbaugh and his like, even after watching first hand the results of their philosophy, that there will be no slowing of the propaganda from the powers that be.
To pick on Rush, because he is the face of the Right, he is now selling shirts on his website that say ‘Club Gitmo When America Was Safe’ with a picture of a swimming pool, in order to try to push people to put pressure on and keep Guantanamo Bay open, while simultaneously making fun of those who oppose torture. He is also blaming Obama, in a bizarre disregard for reality, for causing the recession and the latest job losses. And the problem - many will buy it.
As someone who used to argue with Bushies for years, I personally divided them into three categories. The first having long ago stopped being Bushies. Those were the people who were generally good, that stopped supporting what was going on as soon as they learned the facts. Then there are those in the bigoted/moron/sadist group that are not worth my time. (Personal choice.) Then the last group, which in matters other than politics, seem to be normal or even intelligent, with no outward malice. And it’s to this final group that I direct one simple question.
How can you possibly see things for the way they are if you insist on only seeing what is pointed to by certain media outlets? You consider yourself to be thoughtful and well informed, but by not taking in the entire picture, you are living the antithesis of objective thought. And without objective thought you will never come to the correct conclusions. When a talking head like Limbaugh or Elder tell you that “the richest 2% pay 50% of the taxes” or whatever figure they happen to throw around that week, you are now hell bound to push for tax cuts for the rich. But have you ever looked at the percentage of wealth that 2% controls? Are you advocating that those who are living in poverty pay more? When you are told that corporations pay too much to be lucrative, have you looked into the fact that the effective tax rate of corporations has been falling for decades? That the CEO’s pay has shot through the roof while the real wages of the average Americans has fallen? Of course you didn’t. And you never gave a minute’s thought to the fact that a country that didn’t attack us and was not a threat should not be invaded.
Oh, and when you take out objective thought for a spin, I’ll be waiting for an apology when you get back.
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