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| Linking America's anger to a suicidal madman: Now that's madness |
| 2010-02-20 |
| A sample, for your reading pleasure. Read the whole thing. ...But his lunatic petition forecasts the liturgy to come. The spinners will scrape up his rhetorical remains and put them to use. Inevitably, there will be an attempt to tie Joseph Stack's insanity to the legitimate anger that Americans are feeling these days about their government and political incumbents. Even before the smoke cleared in Austin, you could see it. The public's anger and disillusionment was cast -- in media shorthand -- as dangerous and irrational. Yes, it's a trick, but it works. Former President Bill Clinton used it brilliantly in 1995, when he blamed conservatives for stoking the anger that led to the Oklahoma City terrorist bombing. Though terribly cynical, it gave Clinton and the Democrats a few weeks to breathe. His opponents were on the defensive, forced to explain that they weren't irrational and didn't countenance mass murder. Republicans, equally cynical, have also used variations on the theme. Dissent on the war in Iraq was cast as unpatriotic and irrational after 9/11. And it is to my eternal regret that I was once susceptible to that viewpoint, too. President Barack Obama could use some political breathing room. His White House has been bobbing like some hapless cork, from one Democratic defeat to the next. The Democrats are in panic. And the Republicans, having silkily transformed themselves into ostentatiously conservative budget hawks now that they're out of power, are seeing opportunity in November. But cynical politicians and mad pilots aside, isn't it legitimate for Americans to be angry about what their elected officials have done to their country? Every time we turn around, we see that we're getting ripped off. Our taxes go up, the rich get their bailouts, the culprits give each other bonuses with our money, our jobs disappear, and the political class keeps getting fat on deals. Anger is not only quite rational, I'd argue that it speaks to optimism. Anger means the people think things can change. Just think of the alternative. Think of a political class gorging itself on the people, year after year, and voters remaining docile and quiet. |
| Posted by:mom |
| #2 Linking America's anger to a suicidal madman: Now that's /fixed.... This guy was, obviously, deranged. The Left, being similarly afflicted, are using his reprehensible actions to "tinkle" on any conservative mein they can.... |
| Posted by: Uncle Phester 2010-02-20 19:22 |
| #1 Has the IRS gotten an award for driving an unstable man into a psychotic & suicidal rage that killed several people? |
| Posted by: whatadeal 2010-02-20 13:04 |