I have several Very liberal friends that I exchange e-mail rants with. Sometimes I am confronted with an obvious irrational bias of opinion. When this happens I flood them with an overwhelming tsunami of information with embedded links, quotes and my own commentary, with the suggestion that they pull their heads out and do their own research. I consider it tough love.
The “follow the money” approach is very effective in some cases. Recently, I verbally beat up a died in the wool disciple of global warming with the Ken Lay connection and worked in the GE and Goldman Sachs angle. This hit him close to home as he is a “big business” hater since his wife, who worked for Arthur Anderson lost her well paid job as a result of the Enron collapse. I then followed it up with some Al Gore quotes especially the one about the earth’s core temperature, and of course the “climate gate” scandal.
Another liberal friend of mine was ranting about the “military industrial complex” he is ex military, but has Bush derangement syndrome. He was silenced by a reminder of all the good things the “MIC” has brought us. I sent him a short list that included things like: The wheel, The Interstate highway system, transistors, semiconductors, computers, The internet, microwaves, radar, sonar, aviation (especially helicopters),many advancements in trauma surgery and medical procedures, anything with a laser, nuclear energy, space program, satellite TV / communications, Polypropylene underwear, Kevlar, Silly putty, paint ball, M&M’s, synthetic fuel, flu shots, cell phones and a million other things. I then reminded him that it is us, we are it. It has made us what we are and he is part of the problem. That shut him up.
As far as Sarah Palin is concerned, I think her detractors feel inferior and it is natural for some to attack the things that make them look (or feel) bad in comparison. These are basically un happy people and can’t be helped by any amount of reason.
I would suggest you simply remind them of the way Sarah has worked hard from humble roots and been successful in business, family and politics. Then ask them what they have achieved and leave it at that. Let them simmer in their own juices and then move on.
I won’t let them win. If you can’t reason with and or educate them, embarrass them, they’ll get over it, and if not, good riddance.
I’ve been looking for some good links on the Enron, GE, Sachs angle on AGW.
Got any handy?
I can relate. I do the same, except when I email back all the facts relating to the lies they send me, I don’t get a response... they take their ball and bat and go home, until a safe amount of time has passed, (or their empty heads forget about it) and send me more crap, which I just sigh and send ‘em more facts, and round and round we go... sorry, but the line that liberalism is a mental disease, is sooooo true.