God must love the stupid. He made so many of them

Capitol Hill Blue ^ | February 4, 2003 | DOUG THOMPSON

[Willie Green]

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.

If there´s one thing dealing with the public at large for 30 years has taught me, it is the sad fact that too many people out there are dumb, ignorant and full of hate.

Tonight Show host Jay Leno has a running game show parody that features a bunch of Gen-X´ers brought in off the street and asked questions like “When was the War of 1812 fought?” The closest answer was “1776?”

A recent poll asked 1,000 Americans to name the Vice President of the United States. More than 600 could not. More people could name Osama bin Laden as the leader of al Qaeda than knew Dick Cheney was Vice President of the United States.

On Saturday, the last piece of debris from the Space Shuttle Columbia had not hit the ground before idiots everywhere started screaming the accident was (1) a terrorist attack or (2) part of some grand conspiracy by our elected officials to divert money from the space program and into the coming war with Iraq or (3) any other theory just as loony.

Terrorist attack? Yeah, right. A bunch of al Qaedas who live in caves and use box cutters to hijack planes have suddenly come up with the technology to knock something moving at Mach 17, 205,000 feet up, out of the sky. The U.S. has spent billions on “Star Wars” technology and still can´t do it.

John Diaz, editorial page editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, looked over the crackpots who sent letters to his paper after Columbia went down and shook his head. Most of his mail came from crazies.

“Even more startling was the cynical, even hateful, tone of many of the letters.” Diaz said. “The outtakes were considerably harsher and more jaded than the selection we printed.”

One letter writer to the Chronicle said the Columbia accident stemmed from a secret government plot to “sabotage the mission to direct future finances away from NASA to further the military industrial complex.”

“A recurring theme,” Diaz said “was resentment that Bush would somehow exploit the tragedy for political gain.

“One letter speculated that Palestinians would be ‘dancing in the streets´ upon hearing of the deaths of the U.S. and Israeli astronauts. Another wondered why television was showing ‘so much empathy´ for the deaths of agents of two countries who were responsible for ‘uncounted Palestinian deaths, every day´ in the occupied territories.

“A Livermore man actually questioned whether the accident was the result of a shuttle crew that ‘looks like America.´ He suggested the women and minority astronauts were given ‘bonus points´ in the selection process. Never mind the advanced degrees, the years of public service, the uncommon bravery that distinguished these seven astronauts. And never mind that there has been absolutely no suspicion of pilot error.”

We get the same kind of hate-filled, conspiracy-theory-laden letters from the great unwashed masses every day. Most of these expressions of ignorance are filled with misspelling, grammatical errors and other proof of the failings of the public education system.

“Perhaps it is idealistic to assume that a tragedy would prompt us to draw on our common humanity, rather than to trigger unprovoked animus based on racial, national or political differences,” Diaz said. “And these were not anonymous tirades. The above e-mails were sent for publication, with names, addresses and phone numbers.”

No, it is not idealistic to expect a shred of humanity or even a touch of intelligence from the masses.

But it is unrealistic.

It´s all too easy to hate. It´s all too easy to mistrust. It´s all too easy to jump to conclusions without a single shred of evidence. Our elected officials do it every day. Any idiot can.

Some blame this ignorant paranoia on 9-11 but these hate mongers, bottom feeders and rumor spreaders have been with us for much longer.

Long before the planes crashed into the World Trade Center, these candidates for the loony bin claimed a missile brought down TWA flight 800 over Long Island Sound, the CIA killed President John F. Kennedy and that Elvis was alive and well and living in Costa Rica.

People like this used to hide their identities under white sheets. Now they run racist computerized bulletin boards and use anonymous “handles” to flood these boards or emails with their own blend of hate, ignorance and paranoia. It´s easy to spread hate from behind a cute screen name but you have to wonder how many of the gutless wonders would step up to the plate if they had to use their real names.

Not many, I suspect, even though John Diaz found a surprising number willing to use their names, addresses and phone numbers on the hate correspondence sent to his newspaper.

But I´d bet most of these hate-spewing idiots would crawl back under their rocks rather than stand up and spread their ignorance under their real name.

Then again, maybe most of them don´t even know how to spell their real name.

[ErnBatavia]

On Saturday, the last piece of debris from the Space Shuttle Columbia had not hit the ground before idiots everywhere started screaming the accident was (1) a terrorist attack or (2) part of some grand conspiracy by our elected officials to divert money from the space program and into the coming war with Iraq or (3) any other theory just as loony.

Unfortunately, Free Republic had waaay more than it's share of the above....one of this forum's more shameful and embarrassing periods.

[Quix]

WELL SAID.

My seDiments as well.

I do consider Flight 800 now a proven missle attack. From what group/forces is another issue.

The Columbia seems to be a straightforward thing--evidently of the left wing being damaged by the falling insulation--perhaps attributable to Dilldo's budget cuts; to bureaucratic inertia; dimwitted/arrogant oversight etc.

Though theoretically, GIVEN the mass numbers of people and complexities involved, it seems to me the shuttles COULD BE a prime target for sabotage. I don't consider that Columbia is an example of a successful case thereof.

I too consider the 'gubment' to be quite capable of all kinds of skullduggery and that WITHOUT taking into account the global govermnet tyranny folks. But I also believe there's tons of ignorant stuff as well as more than a little disinformation spread liberally around.

But seeing as how we have some challenges understanding and describing; wrestling difinitively and exhaustively with 'simple' things like light, electricity and gravity . . . I suppose it's not too far fetched that complexities like government with hoards of disperate values and goals conflicting all over the place . . . that such complexities would result in no small number of theories, claims and counter claims is not overly surprising.

I find comfort in the chaos through walking with my hand in the hand of the Man from Galilee. He knows The Father and manifests The Father. He's promised to never leave me and that where He is, I'll be. That has the capacity to cover a multitude of worries.

[Quix]

How much of the recent evidence have you read?

Do you REALLY DOUBT that Dilldo and Shrillary Hillary WOULD have gleefully covered up a significant threat to his reelection 3 months later?

[Quix]

Ahhhh and on what criteria are you going to measure what category of brilliance, knowledge?

Let me choose. I'm a decent shrink. Perhaps I can find a variable you'd be stupid or looney on.

. . . unless, of course, you claim to be God . . . which could shorten the assessment time considerably.

[Quix]

Methinks the failure is to forget to factor in

the degrading, destructive pollution of sin upon the gene pool--physically, spiritually and otherwise.

I do agree we are made in God's image. I'm not precisely nor exhaustively confident of what that means exactly. I think at least it means some spiritual similarity and some capacity to think, choose and bear the imprint of personality.

Whatever else it means must not be important, for now.

[Mr. Jeeves]

“A recurring theme,” Diaz said “was resentment that Bush would somehow exploit the tragedy for political gain.

If it had happened on Clinton's watch, we would be saying the same thing. One man's lunatic is another man's sober realist, I guess.

[greydog]

Mr Darwin was right

[CyberAnt]

GOD is a spirit! Therefore, man is a spirit, man has a soul (his mind, will and emotions), and man lives in a body.

Man (his spirit) will live forever (just like GOD). The real question is, WHERE WILL YOU LIVE. GOD gave each of us a choice where we want our spirit to live - in hell (spiritual death), or in heaven (spiritual life) with HIM.

Then ... in order to give us a clue ... GOD said, "but choose life". Deut. 28

[Dog Gone]

Stupids and loonies are two different animals.

They are not mutually exclusive, though.

Loonies generally are a tougher breed, and impossible to defeat in argument. They won't concede a point in argument, even when facing compelling proof.

Unfortunately, both groups vote.

[Quix]

I used to give Darwin more than the benefit of the doubt and see no big conflict between his very shakey theory and Christianity.

I've come to realize, his theory is bankrupt on a number of accounts.

I may not buy every jot and tittle of the "Creationists" who sometimes say silly things almost as much as the Darwinists. But the evidence for Creation is too vast, deep, high in quality and logically unassailable.

But hey, God is the one who says: "The fool has said in his heart, 'there is no God.'"

I've learned it's wiser not to argue with Him--especially while deluding one's self that one has a better vantage point than He has.

[Quix]

THANKS.

NICELY PUT, imho.

[savedbygrace]

If we could only devise a compelling plan to convince them all to move to one state . . . . .

[ErnBatavia]

I do consider Flight 800 now a proven missle attack.

See? Right here on this very thread!

[Erasmus]

I believe the technical term for what these folks are doing is "wasting oxygen."

You could consider them to be Greenies. While it is true that their use of O2 has no immediate beneficial result, they are at least converting it into CO2 for use by trees.

<)%^)

[Rocky]

and that Elvis was alive and well and living in Costa Rica.

Yeah. Everyone knows he's in Minnesota.

[metesky]

Where's Michael Rivero when we need him?

[RecentConvert]

"Nothing is more humiliating than to see idiots succeed in enterprises we have failed at." - Gustave Flaubert

[Marysecretary]

Please, not NY. We have our share of them already.

[savedbygrace]

That was part of my plan, based on the concept of birds flocking together. We need to pick a state that already has a lot of 'em to start with, but that has plenty of room for expansion.

[Marysecretary]

Hmm, California (around Hollywood) comes to mind.