Recently I found myself considering the purchase of a smart phone. All research suggested that no one has dethroned the iPhone but I discovered I’m unable to make the purchase. The reason? Those “Hi, I’m a Mac. And I’m a PC.” ads. I cannot abide those advertisements. When you boil down to it, those commercials paint Apple as the cool kids, the smart ones, the guy who will get the girl while their competitors are the fat, dumb geeks that will find themselves shoved into a locker before lunch. It is not enough that Apple is good. It is that everyone else is moronic. Why is the second part necessary?
This attitude carries over into politics and I find it just as distasteful there. So little of politics are actually discussions of the issues of the day. Far too much of politics is making outlandish statements and getting a good zinger off on the national stage. What’s worse is the self-congratulatory smugness with which people are proud of this behavior.
Yesterday, Representative Alan Grayson (D-FL) was on the Chris Matthews show discussing Dick Cheney and his recent comments about Afghanistan. Actually, I’m giving too much credit there, as the reall issues of Afghanistan, the Taliban, and proper military strategy were not up for discussion. Instead we get the following soundbite.
I have trouble listening to what he says sometimes because of the blood that drips from his teeth while he’s talking. But, my response is this- He’s just angry because the president doesn’t shoot old men in the face. By the way, when he was done speaking did he just turn into a bat and fly away?
Really? I didn’t watch the video linked at Gateway Pundit but did Grayson tell the audience to tip their waitresses? Because comments like that should be reserved for stand-up comics not U.S. House of Representative members.
More after the break …
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My question of the day is why the people that insist on such behavior think it is an effective political strategy? While I am quite comfortable with my views on topics such as small government, socialized health care, and terrorism I actually enjoy discussing them with people who have differing points of view. Just so long as we are actually focused on the issues themselves. Ranting that everyone who thinks differently is a moron or a, um, vampire, does not form the basis for an intelligent discussion. Being oppressively smug about your perceived intellectual and moral superiority is not going to gain you any respect.
This actually holds for people on both sides of the aisle. Calling liberals ‘libtards’ and the like is inappropriate and unnecessary. For example, there are clear, quantitative reasons that a gigantic, bloated, socialized health care proposal during a recessed (depressed?) economy is a historically bad idea. That is enough of a target for political discussion. The childish banter is tiresome and I can only hope that America grows weary of it.
