"The serious question here is whether MSNBC will continue to finance his [Pat Buchanan's] clearly white supremacist views. If there's anyone in America who doesn't deserve more air time, it's people like Pat Buchanan. They had their time and they failed. Their reign was destructive and a blight on American history. They have no place in the discourse anymore."
Bob Cesca
Postscript from PL: As I've said before, there aren't always two sides to an argument. "Insane" isn't a political philosophy. "Hate" isn't a different opinion. "Ignorance" isn't a preference. (Well, okay, maybe it is.) And Pat Buchanan isn't a commentator on the news. He's a circus freak that MSNBC is exploiting because some people love to stare at car wrecks.
Pete,
ReplyDeleteGenerally I agree with your assessments in these matters. Your conclusion about Pat Buchanan is spot on. The analogy of watching a car wreck is funny and appropriate. Although...
I have to say that your premise isn't logical. "There aren't always two sides to an argument." There HAS to be at least two sides to every argument. Otherwise it wouldn't be an argument! Insanity, hate, and ignorance, whether we like it or not, does exist as an opposition to logic, love and enlightenment.
Writing off the opposition in this manner makes our position just as ignorant as theirs. If we're so sure that our position is correct, then we shouldn't have any trouble proving that with logic and a respectful discourse. If in the end we provide a respectful discourse and they don't then it's simply up to the public to decide for themselves. (That's the Buddhist way.) :-)
If you believe in the premise that every soul on the planet has the potential for enlightenment, you have to look at the prospect that the souls that spew insanity, hate and ignorance (or more appropriately the readers of your blog who potentially buy into that) are simply not well enough educated in logic, love and enlightenment. We would do better to stop labeling people as insane, hateful and ignorant and start finding a way to better educate the world directly in logic, love and enlightenment. Let them decide for themselves. The best we can do is consistently and perpetually provide the best truth possible. Wasting time on labels and tearing down our opposition doesn't add anything to our argument. It's like saying: "I'm right and you're wrong." Ok. So what.
In the end I believe people are more interested in why you think you're right than they do about why you think they're wrong.