A MUST SEE.....for Kerry voters!!!!
POSTED BY: Anarko
UPDATED: Friday, January 7, 2005 00:13
VIEWED: 9417
PAGE 3 of 3
I like this...it fits the current state of the Democratic Party!
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Ah yes. I expect to see many more examples of demonization over the next many years.
This first thing that popped into my head on viewing this post was the phrase, "tyranny of the majority".
I guess it's time to go back and refresh my memory of John Stuart Mill's, "On Liberty".
Quote:
excerpted from the Introductory of John Stuart Mill's "On Liberty" available online at http://www.bartleby.com/130/
Like other tyrannies, the tyranny of the majority was at first, and is still vulgarly, held in dread, chiefly as operating through the acts of the public authorities. But reflecting persons perceived that when society is itself the tyrant—society collectively, over the separate individuals who compose it—its means of tyrannizing are not restricted to the acts which it may do by the hands of its political functionaries. Society can and does execute its own mandates: and if it issues wrong mandates instead of right, or any mandates at all in things with which it ought not to meddle, it practises a social tyranny more formidable than many kinds of political oppression, since, though not usually upheld by such extreme penalties, it leaves fewer means of escape, penetrating much more deeply into the details of life, and enslaving the soul itself. Protection, therefore, against the tyranny of the magistrate is not enough: there needs protection also against the tyranny of the prevailing opinion and feeling; against the tendency of society to impose, by other means than civil penalties, its own ideas and practices as rules of conduct on those who dissent from them; to fetter the development, and, if possible, prevent the formation, of any individuality not in harmony with its ways, and compel all characters to fashion themselves upon the model of its own. There is a limit to the legitimate interference of collective opinion with individual independence: and to find that limit, and maintain it against encroachment, is as indispensable to a good condition of human affairs, as protection against political despotism.
So thank you, CrevanReaver, for providing this excellent example of the tyranny of the majority in action.
There are three kinds of people: fighters, lovers, and screamers.
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I'm on a Mac, so maybe that's why the audio doesn't come through. I had my husband pull it up for me-- he's a PC man.
I think that recording speaks volumes to what I see as the most important fundamental difference between the two parties.
There is the party of the underdog, of acceptance, openness and compassion, of using science and fact in the creation of public policy, of doing what is right rather than doing what is popular with your loudest constituents, of making a compromise with our fellows rather than bullying our way through, and when necessary, of attacking unsound policy or actions.
On the other side, there is the party of doing what you want for purely selfish reasons, of using an extremist Christian interpretation of the Bible and private intuition in the formation of public policy, of attacking random foreign nations because you feel like it, and of kicking a fellow citizen when he (or she) is down (reference the sound clip above) while simoultaneously claiming we should all 'come together'.
I apologize to the true conservatives out there; I have no beef with you guys. You believe in basic hands-off policies which are both self-consistent and scientifically supportable. You're different from me, but I can see how you got there. I think that you guys got the shaft as much as I did in this election. Maybe moreso, since there was nobody who really fully represented you. At least I was able to vote for a member of my own party without wincing.
I don't think the Bushies/neocons/religious zealots who conquered in this election are ever going to stop gloating and stepping on other people's toes and parading that around like it's a good thing. Certainly I don't think they could stop for long enough to come to the table. But then, I'm not sure I really want them sitting at the grownup table of human discourse anyway. They'd just start throwing food.
I know, I know. The seats are saved if they ever want to grow up and get real.
There is no such thing as a weed.
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Quote:
Originally posted by SoupCatcher:
Ah yes. I expect to see many more examples of demonization over the next many years.
This first thing that popped into my head on viewing this post was the phrase, "tyranny of the majority".
I must admit that I'm kind of puzzled why John Cleese's "NOTICE OF REVOCATION OF INDEPENDENCE" is just whacky fun, but this is "demonization" and "Tyranny of the Majority". They both are supposed to be humorous twitting of one side or the other about the election. And to my taste, both were worth a chuckle but were a little long.
"Keep the Shiny side up"
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Quote:
Originally posted by Geezer
I must admit that I'm kind of puzzled why John Cleese's "NOTICE OF REVOCATION OF INDEPENDENCE" is just whacky fun, but this is "demonization" and "Tyranny of the Majority". They both are supposed to be humorous twitting of one side or the other about the election. And to my taste, both were worth a chuckle but were a little long.
I'll do a quickie type answer and then post something in a bit more detail after I get done travelling. As usual, you raise a good question. For me, it comes down to trends and who is the one making the jokes. In my opinion John Cleese has absolutely no bearing on the shape of popular opinion in the US. He could post an article like this every day from now on and they would not become part of the conventional wisdom. The theme that Democrats are crybabies is a bit different. I see it as part of an ongoing attempt to minimize the impact of a political party by turning them into a charicacture. If this was the only thing that I had seen then I would laugh and move on. But when I talk to friends and they immediately dismiss anything the Democrats do because they are whiners, or losers, or crybabies, or - heaven forbid - liberals (even though, at least in my opinion, the Democrats are not really a liberal party) that's where I see the effects of demonization. It's the same to me as calling Republicans fascists or warmongers. It's a tactic used to sidestep political discourse by painting those whose opinions are different as objects of ridicule. There's no point in listening to anything that Democrats have to say on a topic because they're just sore losers. For me, I think the Democrats do have some good ideas. I don't think all of their ideas are good and many times I think they don't have a coherent platform and that they tend to be reactive rather than proactive but I'm not going to stop paying attention to them.
Of course, I could just be a bit thin skinned on the whole subject since I am a proud liberal and have seen how much cachet that label has lost over the past fifteen years. When I listen to talk radio in the Central Valley of California I hear that I am evil and a threat to this country over and over again. And when I talk to people who listen to this type of programming I hear those statements repeated. It's been an effective campaign. So when I see another group getting what I think is the same treatment I get irritated.
I could be overreacting. It's been known to happen
. It could all just be fun and games and could have absolutely no affect on how people perceive other points of view.That wasn't quick. And it might not have been coherent. But that's all I have time for right now.
There are three kinds of people: fighters, lovers, and screamers.
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I have tried to stay clear of these politically charged threads, but for some reason I just can't hold it in anymore. Yeah, I voted for Kerry, no I did not think he was the second coming. No I do not agree with Bush, his administration, and a whole lot more. It's just lame that so many people are out there bashing as a whole the democratic party. like we have never done anything good for the country. Sorry, I am not a republican, but I am not blind to the great things they have accomplished in history. It is sad that so many of them don't share that view point.
Regardless, that's not my point. The truth is, I am fed up with it. All of it. The voting, the campaigning, the shoddy journalism and spin. The lies, the faith, the hopes, the let downs. Fuck all of it. I was able to convince 5 people who never wanted anything to do with politics to vote this past elections, regardless of who it was for. and in the end, none of it mattered. I am tired of being the outsider who still works within the guidelines of this system. Fuck voting. It really doesn't make a difference. As far as I am concerned this country deserves 9/11 and every other eminent terrorist attack it will inevitably receive. We are blind, and will be made to see. But as for me, I am done.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Anarko:Quote:
Originally posted by SergeantX:
I wonder what they think they've won?
Duh, four more year!
http://www.georgewbush.com/
The United States of Bush
That map lists my county as going to Bush and I know for a fact that it didn't. WTF?
For the next four years, I'd like to remind all of your Republicans of the words of a great man, Malcolm Reynolds "I may have been on the losing side, doesn't mean I was on the wrong one."
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Smurfkiller: Amen Brother.
Someothername: (Sorry if I got your handle wrong!) Dude, actively don't watch political media for a month. Don't watch any news at all for a month. Don't think about it. Take a break.
Don't abdicate what so many people fought and died for. I know it's a cliche, but your vote is your voice. If you give up, you lose. Keep flying.
Take a break from all of it. And then seek out sources for news from international sites, where American news is big but not everything, and where most of the dumb stories are filtered out. If they try to make all American media spin in one direction or another, then just 'fly a little further.'
There is no such thing as a weed.
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The link below is a webpage where you can download the video to your desktop.
http://cinomed.blogspot.com/2004/12/glenn-beck-gloatfest-2004-video.ht
ml
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Quote:
Originally posted by smurfkiller:
I'd like to remind all of your Republicans of the words of a great man, Malcolm Reynolds "I may have been on the losing side, doesn't mean I was on the wrong one."
Actually, I believe it was, "May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."
_______________________________________________
I wish I had a magical wish-granting plank.
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