Monday, January 17, 2011

Judgment

I'm in absolute, complete, unequivocal agreement with Riverdaughter in her post "failure to discriminate", especially this:
I’ve never seen so much denial in my life. The right was happy as all get out to stomp all over us before this shooting. If it really had nothing to do with it, and I’m not saying it did, why not just admit that it was fun while it lasted? Sarah and Glenn aren’t apologizing. Take credit for the poison. You deserve it!

But if you’re tired of it, like I am, turn off the TV and the radio. Step away from the fight. If you are an FDR type Democrat in Exile like me, this doesn’t have anything to do with you anyway. It’s just two anachronistic, legacy parties going at each other. It has very little to do with how people are living today. It won’t get more people employed, fix our crumbling infrastructure, punish the bankers or end a war. It is a major distraction.

Enough.
It's called judgment. It exists in its exercise. It is what my class has consistently, persistently failed to do since it decided the last Democratic president was too white, too hick, too Southern, and too transactional for them to deign to support. It's what my political opponents, the Movement Conservatives, refuse to do in their single minded pursuit of power, demonizing anyone who fails to fall in behind their hateful, anti-democratic message.

I've been avoiding the news for the most part this last week because of the opportunistic appropriation of the shooting by the usual political suspects. It's why I've avoided most American political news for the last two years. I think I stopped paying attention to most of the Media Kabuki when the loudest voices of Left and Right decided that whatever was wrong with the country, no matter the specific wrong being mentioned, it was the fault of "liberals". Those damn extremists. Those damn partisans. Those damn centrists. Those damn moderates. Those damn transactional, practical folks who give a little here and take a little there, aren't much in the mood for conspiracies, don't agree with any exterminationist sentiments (left or right), don't like culture wars standing in for political contest, and are getting really, really tired of single-issue, faux-victim politics.

Anglachel

3 comments:

A little night musing said...

Not listening to the media can get you labeled mad. I haven't listened to a political speech (or debate) since Reagan was elected: I read transcripts, and I am amazed how much my supposedly lefty friends who do listen get swayed by mere presentation.

Koshem Bos said...

Some of us are used to ignore the very serious sources. We didn't start this practice after Giffords murder attempt nor with Obama's empty campaign in 2008.

The media is a bad joke (there are a handful of exceptions). The left blogs are not much better; I read about four after rejecting 30-40 others.

We are waiting for FDR, MLK or Cesar Chavez.

jmac said...

Marketing has ruined everything. Nothing is done in the conventional media anymore that is not designed "to sell something to someone".

The perfection of marketing techniques during the 20th century may mark the beginning of the end.