Posted on 10/10/2004 8:32:16 AM PDT by jmstein7
Black is Black
By Jonathan M. Stein
Honesty is clearly the best policy; that is not in question. However, broadcasting one's honesty isn't always the best politics -- sometimes, in fact, it is incredibly stupid.
There is no question that, in general, conservatives are more honest than their liberal counterparts. However, conservatives have a nasty habit of crowing about just how honest they are, often to their detriment. Conservatives know when they're right, when they're wrong, when they've done well, and when they've done badly. That doesn't mean that they have to stand on the rooftops and shout about it. Loudly letting liberals know when things are going badly for conservatives doesn't make liberals think "wow, gee, look how honest conservatives are!" It doesn't make liberals feel badly about themselves. On the contrary, it is incredibly stupid in that liberals wisely, and gladly, use it against conservatives. As liberal bloggers, and John Kerry, have demonstrated, they are only too gleeful to use Republican criticisms of Republicans against Republicans in the public debate.
Now, I'm not urging dishonesty; I'm certainly not advocating lies. All I am saying is that the liberals do not need any more free advice or any more free ammunition to use against Republicans and conservatives -- they already have plenty of that. All I am asking is that, as we move into the final weeks of an election that will determine the safety and security of all Americans going forward, a life or death election, if conservatives don't have anything nice to say about themselves or their candidates, then don't say anything at all. This can be boiled down to two simple words... if you don't have anything nice to say then shut up.
The consequences of not shutting up are clear; just look at what happened after the first debate, when things didn't go as well as we liked: we criticized, we grumbled, we despaired -- and the liberals fed off it, gained strength, re-energized their base, used it against us, and made some headway in the polls. This same mistake must not be repeated. If you don't like how things are going, that's fine -- just keep it to yourself. As is often said: "loose lips sink ships."
Alternatively, what conservatives should not do is what liberals do when things go badly for them: lie, deceive, and spin. Just look at what happened after the second debate, when President Bush made a comeback. Democrats and other liberals went beyond merely keeping quiet about their losses; that would have been fine. No -- they actually went out of their way to convince others that the opposite was true -- that their loss was actually a win. That is dishonest, and it is something conservatives should never do.
What is truly frightening about all this isn't the lying, spin, or deception. What is truly frightening is that, to liberals, the lies, spin, and deception actually became their truth! They really believed what they were saying! Look no further than the rhetoric at the Democratic Underground. This is frightening because it is further evidence of just how far the left has gone down the Orwellian path.
In 1984, George Orwell describes a trio of though-control devices that make this self-deception possible -- and orthodox. The concepts are crimestop, blackwhite, and doublethink. In 1984, any thought that went against that which was considered "orthodoxy" was considered a crime. Thus, citizens were trained to consciously stop themselves, stop their though processes, before their very thoughts strayed beyond what was considered orthodox. This concept was known as crimestop, i.e. consciously stopping unorthodox, "criminal" though (crimethink) before it "polluted" the mind. The left-wingers have clearly mastered this, especially considering the things they have gone on record saying about Senator Kerry's debate performance. As their negative thoughts about Kerry formed, they simply, and clearly, stopped thinking. Scary.
Of course, crimestop is necessary when the beginnings of adverse thought have already entered the mind. Thus, to remedy the effects of some tainted thought, it is necessary to convince one's self that the opposite of those thoughts is really true. If it is bad to think that black is actually black, and you started to think about that, but stopped short, then one must convince one's self that black is actually white. If black is a bad thought and white is a good thought, you must convince yourself that black is white. This technique is known as blackwhite. If a Democrat had started to think that John Kerry gave a dismal performance, that Democrat must quickly, and consciously, convince himself that Kerry was fabulous, despite reality. Blackwhite.
The final step in this conscious self-deception is paradox resolution and reconciliation. The process of convincing one's self that black is white is a conscious one. In the back of one's mind, one knows that black is black. So, it is necessary to convince one's self that although one knows that black is black, black can also be white in fact, black can be black and white at the same time! It is necessary to believe that a non sequitur can be logical, and that, in fact, it has always been logical. Not only did John Kerry do well, despite the fact that he did badly, but the fact is that he had been doing well all along. And, by gosh, he actually did vote for the $87 billion before he voted against it! Doublethink.
This is how liberals lie so effectively -- because they really believe it, and they have mastered believing it, and they never believed otherwise. A contradiction can be consciously true and false and reconciled, and, in fact, it has always been true. They have mastered these Orwellian thought-control techniques and if they assume power, they will make sure that everyone else masters them as well.
Frightening.
BUMP!
"This is how liberals lie so effectively -- because they really believe it, and they have mastered believing it, and they never believed otherwise."
If they believe what they say is true they haven't lied. To lie requires one to knowingly deceive. I think they know full well they are lying.
BTT!!!!!!
'This is how liberals lie so effectively -- because they really believe it, and they have mastered believing it, and they never believed otherwise. A contradiction can be consciously true and false and reconciled, and, in fact, it has always been true. They have mastered these Orwellian thought-control techniques and if they assume power, they will make sure that everyone else masters them as well.'
________________________________________
Bump.
A prime example are the Buchanan/Tancredo organizations.
The process of double think has been elevated to high philosophy:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1240456/posts
Well, yes... they are lying -- to themselves.
I tend to disagree. Liberals throw our words back in our face at their peril. At times, it seems John Kerry is running to the right of George W. Bush - attacking him for not being enough like Ronald Reagan, for instance.
How on earth is that supposed to help Kerry with his own crowd? "Vote For Me! I'm More Like Ronald Reagan!"
What are you thinking...? Your telling us we should'nt have an honest voice on this forum. That only those who will say what you want the world to hear should speak! No way.....as an American I will exercise my right to disagree and have an opinion even if you don't like it. I'm appalled at what you are suggesting on this forum called FREE Republic.
As is often said: "loose lips sink ships."
And to that I would say: indeed. I'm reminded of something perhaps just a little profound: We have two ears and one mouth, perhaps that means we should listen twice as much as we speak.
I disagree. In order to retain long-term credibility, we need to remain truthful in our commentary. Anything less is incredibly shortsighted.
One of the advantages of not lying is that you don't have to remember what story you gave 10 minutes ago. This is why John Kerry has a massive problem with flip-flopping and George W. Bush does not.
If Bush was the inconsistent flip-flopper in this election, he would be down by 15 points.
The problem with your thesis is that you interchangeably utilize the terms "conservative" and "Republican." Not all conservatives are Republican and certainly not all Republicans are conservative. It is a matter of principle over party.
I have 10 fingers and 2 eyes, so I'm going to post 5 times as much as I read.
BUMP!
(I need some defending here -- the stakes are high)
No. Read it again... I made the express point of seperating out the terms "conservative" and "Republican."
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