I disagree.
I know some liberal elites, sorry to say.
Their arrogance overwhelms any intelligent common sense.
They must be in charge or they feel worthless.
That's why they are attracted to government jobs.
Dean is a half-wit masquerading as the "brains" of the Deomocrat Party.
The fact that no Democrat objects to his idiotic tirades shows clearly that top Democrats have no more "brains" than he....and worst of all...they have no courage.
The last two Democrat presidents were touted as very intelligent.....but their actions showed differently.
But in the courage department, they both were running on empty!!
Howie Dean is the perfect example of that. The Dems haven't replaced him because he perfectly represents them.
What causes fanaticism and why it is dangerous.The fanatic has an elitist view of himself. He holds a firm belief that he is "special" and has something that others, not like him, do not and that this unique "something" imparts an unquestionable and unassailable power to himself. Because of this basic self-view any disagreement with the elitist or any resistance to his actions causes anger. This "supreme" view of himself is an excuse for justifying his anger and thus justifying any act from deception to murder against those who disagree or refuse to comply with him. He is comfortable with hatred, revenge, lying or any gross deception in defense of his "superior" position and will act out against those who do resist or refuse to validate his view.
It is impossible to reason or negotiate with someone who holds the POV that they are morally and/or ethically superior by virtue of the belief that they are inherently so. Everything you do to accomodate his "concerns" (demands), short of complete capitulation, will be discounted due to your "inherent" inferiority. Any resistance to him, anything other than complete submission, becomes self-evident proof of his superiority. The elitist's POV presupposes the rationale of rightness and righteousness as inherent to himself by virtue of his personal belief not as a measure of the quality of his actions or the resulting consequences. His belief that he is superior may hang on an ideology or philosophy but regardless of whether the doctrine supports his view or not he is simply never wrong about himself. Of course the opposite is true for non-elites in the fanatic's mindset. You can never be right if you're not one of the "righteous" simply because you are not. More precisely; you are not "him."
It should be obvious why a fanatic is dangerous. Any and all negative and evil acts can be justified on the basis of any disassociation with his self-view and the "inherent authority" he carries with that. The intent and motivations of an outsider are irrelevant no matter how positive. The results of an outsider's actions are irrelevant no matter how accomodating or constructive. The non-elites are always wrong because they don't hold or submit to the fanatic's view.
The world is full of fanatics of every kind and they can base their elitist self-view on any pretext. Some belong to large groups of "like-minded" fanatics and some are individuals who cling to the delusion that they alone are "special."
In today's world the United States in particular, and western civilization in general, is under a concerted assault from two separate groups of fanatic elitists. Fundamentalist Muslims and leftists. The Islamo-nazis and the Marxists. Both leftists and Islamo-fascists hold a firm belief that they have something that rednecks and infidels don't have that carries a special authority with it. For leftists it is "intellect" and "social sophistication" and for Islamo-nazis it's a "call from Allah," a "holy annointing."
Both groups are manifestations of a mass psychological disorder resulting in fanatic elitism. Both are extremely unstable and are unfounded upon and unaffected by reasoned logic. Convinced of their own "inherent" superiority they will both press their respective agendas as far as they can without regard for the consequences to themselves or to others. In both cases the blame for all of their actions will "logically" fall on the shoulders of others, the "outsiders." Negative consequences of their actions simply become another tool for self-vindication.
The fanatic elitist mindset is the same as the mindset of the rabid dog. Nothing else exists for them except for their personal perception of themselves. Nothing else can; their POV is, by design, unaffectable by outside influence. Change can only occur from within and this means a change in the "prime directive." Change requires the abdication of their most basic point of reference, their self-view, the view that they are unique in a superior, inherent and authoritarian way. This is a view that reasonable people must either completely reject or ultimately submit to. Those are the only choices the fanatic will leave to "the others."
TigersEye - 7/27/05