Posted on 02/12/2007 9:53:12 PM PST by RWR8189
In her last column, Boston Globe columnist Ellen Goodman wrote: "Let's just say that global warming deniers are now on a par with Holocaust deniers . . . "
This is worthy of some analysis.
First, it reflects a major difference between the way in which the Left and Right tend to view each other. With a few exceptions, those on the Left tend to view their ideological adversaries as bad people, i.e., people with bad intentions, while those on the Right tend to view their adversaries as wrong, perhaps even dangerous, but not usually as bad.
Those who deny the Holocaust are among the evil of the world. Their concern is not history but hurting Jews, and their attempt to rob nearly six million people of their experience of unspeakable suffering gives new meaning to the word "cruel." To equate those who question or deny global warming with those who question or deny the Holocaust is to ascribe equally nefarious motives to them. It may be inconceivable to Al Gore, Ellen Goodman and their many millions of supporters that a person can disagree with them on global warming and not have evil motives: Such an individual must be paid by oil companies to lie, or lie -- as do Holocaust deniers -- for some other vile reason.
The belief that opponents of the Left are morally similar to Nazis was expressed recently by another prominent person of the Left, George Soros, the billionaire who bankrolls many leftist projects. At the World Economic Forum in Davos last month, Soros called on America to "de-Nazify" just as Germany did after the Holocaust and World War II. For Soros, America in Iraq is like the Nazis in Poland.
A second lesson to be drawn from the Goodman statement is that it helps
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolitics.com ...
"those on the Right tend to view their adversaries as wrong, perhaps even dangerous, but not usually as bad."
Um Dennis, overall, right on the mark but on this we disagree. WORSE.
I, for one, don't give a hoot about global warming. As far as I'm concerned it's too cold anyway...
Ellen Goodman is catching a fair amount of flak for that column as well she should.
I hear you. It's mid-February, and I'm itching for spring.
Many liberal policies are unwise or impractical; a few - like chopping up human embryos for experiments, murdering half-born children, and wholesale slaughter of the unborn - are pure evil. Now, not all liberals are bad people, but it must be admitted that there is a high concentration of liars, haters, adulterers, traitors and racists among liberals.
> In her last column, Boston Globe columnist Ellen Goodman wrote: "Let's just say that global warming deniers are now on a par with Holocaust deniers . . . "
I seem to remember, round about 1998, *the experts* telling us that we were "in Y2K Denial"...
...and Y2K proved to be a non-event.
The key difference here is that the Holocaust has actually *already happened*, and its "deniers" are fools who ignore the lessons of history ex-post-facto.
"Y2K" was a false prediction that came to naught. "Y2K deniers" saved themselves a heap of money on generators, extra bullets, bunkers and a lifetime supply of dried beans that they didn't purchase because the whole idea was silly to begin with.
"Global Warming deniers" will probably likewise save a heap of money on Kyoto Protocol requirements that they won't have to pay for in useless taxes because their countries won't sign up to it.
I must be one of the exceptions, b/c I think people like the Clintons, the (modern) Kennedy's, etc, are bad.
No, they have been certainly paralleled and perhaps even surpassed in evil by others including the Soviet and Chinese and Cambodian Communists and also the Hutu in Rwanda.
Border Patrol.
The price of lettuce.
"With a few exceptions, those on the Left tend to view their ideological adversaries as bad people, i.e., people with bad intentions, while those on the Right tend to view their adversaries as wrong, perhaps even dangerous, but not usually as bad."
In my simple world, the left is comprised of two fundamental elements charlatanium and dupecium. The right is comprised of 99% independentthoughtogen.
Charlatanium and dupecium bond through a simple set of eight pricipals, cast below as the eight commandments of the left.
I
Thou shalt create an illusion of invulnerability shared by most members to foster excessive optimism and encourage extreme risks taking
II
Thou shall not allow any member to question the group's inherent morality, instead members shall be encouraged to ignore the ethical or moral consequences of their decisions
III
Thou shalt promote collective efforts to rationalize in order to discount warnings, or other information that might lead members to reconsider their assumptions before they recommit themselves to their assumptions
IV
Thou shalt reinforce stereotyped views of enemy leaders as too evil to warrant genuine attempts to negotiate, or as too weak and stupid to counter whatever risky attempts are made to defeat their purpose
V
Thou shalt self-censor any deviation from the apparent group consensus, inclining each member to minimize the importance of their doubts and counterarguments
VI
Thou shalt create and maintain a shared illusion of unanimity concerning judgement conforming to the majority view
VII
Thou shalt apply direct pressure on any member who expresses strong arguments against any of the group's stereotypes, illusions, or commitments, making clear that this type of dissent is contrary to what is expected of all loyal members
VIII
Thou shalt appoint mindguards to protect the group from adverse information that might shatter their shared complacency about the effectiveness and morality of their decisions
(adapted from Janis '82)
There is really not much else to it.
Eddie01
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
So who/what assaults and tries to kidnap Elie Wiesel in, of all places, the homo heartland not even three days later?
Yup. A Holocaust denier.
Don't need to be a genius or a psychic to figure these wackadoos out though. You just gotta know their player roster.
" Thou shalt create an illusion of invulnerability shared by most members to foster excessive optimism and encourage extreme risks taking "
I must beg to differ on this point --
Liberals are congenitally fear-driven, and everything they do is aimed at eliminating every hint of 'risk' from the world.
From seatbelt/helmet laws to smoking and transfat bans to draconian global warming measures, they desperately try to control everything and everyone around them so that they can *feel* 'safe'.
And when confronted with a risk that they can't 'control', such as islamofascism and terrorism, they retreat into denial.
Liberalism is, indeed, a mental/emotional aberration.....
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
?No, I really hate them, mostly because of their lies.?
Exactly! If their lips are moving, they are lying.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.