Al Gore's Vulcan Utopia

National Post - Canada ^ | Thursday, May 31, 2007 | David Brooks

[GMMAC]

Note: appeared in today's print edition only - thus no url available but this same article can be found elsewhere on the Internet.

[GMMAC]

[mnehring]

Just to take these quotes apart piece by piece...

but the re-establishment of a genuine democratic discourse in which individuals can participate in a meaningful way - a conversation of democracy in which meritorious ideas and opinions from individuals do, in fact, evoke a meaningful response

I would like to know about any time in our history when we had more or even close to the freedom of democratic discourse as we do now. This implies we've lost discourse. The fact that we are here discussing Algore's book shows that discourse is alive and well.. What this should translate is that Gore wants his side to control discourse...

[bcsco]

In Gore's view, TV immobilizes the reasoning centers in the brain and stimulates the primitive, instinctive parts. TV creates a "visceral vividness" that is not "modulated by logic, reason and reflective thought."

Obviously, AlGore has been watching too much TV.

[TexasCajun]

"Algore, You defy logic! "

[Ditter]

Please, PLEASE don’t make me read it. (sob)

[Names Ash Housewares]

I find nothing logical about Gore at all.

Rather a condescending hypocritical pompous ass is what I find him to be.
Among other things.

Fear mongerer
Elitist
Self serving
Emotional blow hard... “He Betrayed us, he played on our fears!!!!”

Far from cold logic.

[3AngelaD]

"The remedy for what ails our democracy is not simply better education (as important as that is) or civic education (as important as that can be), but the re-establishment of a genuine democratic discourse in which individuals can participate in a meaningful way - a conversation of democracy in which meritorious ideas and opinions from individuals do, in fact, evoke a meaningful response." And I can just hear his droning voice saying this...I am getting sleepy, very sleepy....

I am trying to imagine the mental state of anyone who could read that book with any enjoyment, or who could read that book without screaming and throwing it across the room. Such prose could be used to torture terrorists and force them to reveal their secrets.

[Spruce]

Al Gore is Herbert.

[FormerLib]

algore’s more like Gollum than Spock, anyway.

Spock could be likeable, in his own way.

The same’s just not true for algore.

[MAexile]

The first response to this argument is, Has Al Gore ever actually looked at the Internet?

Of course he has, he invented it.

</sarc>

[GMMAC]

Agreed but .... Gore's self-image:

[GSWarrior]

Please, PLEASE don’t make me read it.

Let me summarize...the author is basically saying that Al Gore is a douchebag.

[batmast]

algore writes like the comedian Professor Irwin Corey sounds and Corey’s review could be said about Gore.

http://www.irwincorey.org/bio.html
In the words of internationally known theatre critic Kenneth Tynan, Corey is “a cultural clown, a parody of literacy, a travesty of all that our civilization holds dear and one of the funniest grotesques in America. He is Chaplin’s clown with a college education.”

[Steve_Seattle]

"I would like to know about any time in our history when we had more or even close to the freedom of democratic discourse as we do now. This implies we've lost discourse. The fact that we are here discussing Algore's book shows that discourse is alive and well.. What this should translate is that Gore wants his side to control discourse..."

Bingo. Gore is correct that the Internet opens up discourse in a very democratic way - we've known that for years - but, as the author points out, the Internet does not guarantee that "the rational mind" and "logic" will prevail. The author also makes same rather sophisticated philosophical arguments against Gore's Cartesian worldview.

And you are correct that the subtext of Gore's argument is that somehow the modern media cheated him of his Divine Right to the presidency by allowing uninformed and irrational forces to prevail. This overlooks the inconvenient truth that a clear majority of those very media supported Gore. As do all libs, Gore bestows Godlike power on Fox news and Rush Limbaugh to somehow override the combined influence of all the liberal media. Ironically, it is Gore who is highly irrational and swayed by uncontrollable emotions.

[lilylangtree]

“re-establishment of a genuine democratic discourse”

albore’s saying “vote RAT!”

[mad puppy]

“The remedy for what ails our democracy....”

Al.... ours is a REPUBLIC. Try to keep up. It might be easier if you kept your mouth shut.

[KarlInOhio]

"The remedy for what ails our democracy is not simply better education (as important as that is) or civic education (as important as that can be), but the re-establishment of a genuine democratic discourse in which individuals can participate in a meaningful way - a conversation of democracy in which meritorious ideas and opinions from individuals do, in fact, evoke a meaningful response."

But at the same time he is fighting for the "Fairness Doctrine" with the intention of killing democratic discourse on talk radio. The Dems say they want equal time, but in reality they want zero time by making political talk too difficult for the broadcasters to deal with, so they'll just have sports, gardening, home repair and relationship shows instead of people like Boortz, Limbaugh, Hannity and Savage.

I guess radio talk isn't "meritorious" enough because it criticizes the Dems too often. How long would it take for him to demand a Hillary style "internet gatekeeper" to ensure that all discussion is properly meritorious.

[Rummyfan]

...but the re-establishment of a genuine democratic discourse in which individuals can participate in a meaningful way - a conversation of democracy in which meritorious ideas and opinions from individuals do, in fact, evoke a meaningful response."

And I thought this dweeb invented the internet......

[sgtbono2002]

Al Gore speaks a foreign language called Gobbledegoop.

Its designed so that it sounds important,but no one can understand it.