It all ADDs up!
I was just reading some of the political websites and found something really surprising: Most of the people who commented on any of the articles weren’t actually commenting on the articles at all! Instead, they were either tossing in their two cents worth about some other subject entirely; commenting on some other comment; commenting on whether a person commenting had the right to make such a comment at that particular venue; or commenting on the published article in such a way as to make it obvious that they had either misunderstood what was written or had read just a few words of it, been enthused or incensed enough by what they thought they saw that they ran off to their computer to write about it, and had, in fact, no idea at all of what the article had actually said.
Granted, not every writer has the ability to make his point in a way that the average person can understand. Maybe they use the wrong words to put their meaning across; maybe they use the right words, but in a wrong way; and maybe, either because their thoughts aren’t well enough organized or because they simply lack the necessary writing skills, the articles just don’t make sense.
Even so, wouldn’t you think that the sort of person who reads such stuff would be an active patriot – on whichever side, either Right or Left? And, especially if the guy is a crazed Left-Winger lurking on conservative sites to damage the competition, wouldn’t you think that he would have taken the time and trouble to make himself an expert on the subject matter so that he could do a good job of whatever he was trying to do?
People who go to baseball games seem to care enough about the game, the team, and the players, that they can spout statistics and comparative data like an expert. Wouldn’t you think that that would be the case with politics, too? Wouldn’t you think that in their comments on articles on Free Republic, on any of the Tea Party blogs, or on Town Hall, Human Events, or the Daily Caller, people responding from either side would be sufficiently interested in what had been written or in the fate of this great nation or in simply not appearing to be fools that they would make sure that they at least understood what the article they were commenting on was about?
Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case.
More often than not it seems that, regardless of the article’s actual content, leaning, or subject matter, the people who write-in about it just blithely take off on their own personal hobby-horse and blather away about whatever suits them.
Sometimes this may be because they simply lack the knowledge to understand what’s being said: In October of 2009, Glenn Beck, in an interview with NEWSMAX.TV said that he feared “a Reichstag moment” or “another 9/11”. People commenting on that interview on the website of Media Matters – a far left mouthpiece claimed to be funded by George Soros – were, as should be expected, strongly anti-Beck and strongly in disagreement with everything that he said. THERE WAS JUST ONE PROBLEM, THOUGH: Although everybody took off after Beck’s 9/11 reference, generally misunderstanding it (sic) to mean that he supported 9/11 (and, to their credit as good Americans, roundly damning him for that support), NOT ONE COMMENT BY ANY PERSON GAVE ANY INDICATION AT ALL THAT ITS WRITER HAD ANY CLUE WHATSOEVER AS TO WHAT A “Reichstag Moment” MIGHT BE OR WHAT THOSE WORDS MIGHT HAVE REFERRED TO. (http://mediamatters.og/mmtv/200910070007)
Interestingly, the Daily Kos, another hard-left blog, brought up that same “Reichstag Moment” issue a little more than eleven months later, in its response (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/8/30/174010/822) to a Newsmax pitch piece for a special report on Glenn Beck. The difference there was that the Daily Kos writer actually corrected Beck, saying “What Beck presumably meant was ‘a Reichstag fire moment’[italics added]” and went on to tell readers what the Reichstag fire was and how the Nazis used it “…to gain dictatorial power.” Wanna know what good that did? Here, in its entirety is the very first published comment to that Daily Kos article: “A public option for health insurance is a national priority.”
Obviously, whatever is going on here isn’t just a lack of knowledge.
Has America truly turned into a nation of dumbbells, who have no interest in the state and future of our nation? Or, at the other extreme, have we become so deeply enmeshed in our conflicting ideologies that we don’t care or won’t listen to what others might really be saying or what its real consequence might be?
Maybe, instead of either of those, we have simply been dosed with slogans and sound-bites for so long that we have lost the capacity for real thought and genuine comprehension.
Maybe we are suffering a sort of national A.D.D. (Attention Deficit Disorder) which is keeping us from becoming the kind of intelligent and informed participants in the American dialogue that we need to be if we are to save our nation from what seems to be ever more imminent destruction.
It’s possible: It all ADDs up.
– END –
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Posted by Roger E. Skoff on September 7, 2010 11:55 am
» Filed Under 1st Amendment, Conservatism, Debate, Delusional Dupes and DUmmies, Democrats, Education, Internet, Journalistic Malpractice, News, Patriotism, Political Correctness, Political prostitution, Politics As Usual, Republicans, liberalism
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2 Responses to “It all ADDs up!”
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Syndicate Me
I’ve been blogging for only about two years and with decreasing frequency, because I’ve been appalled, exasperated and disgusted by the shallowness, ignorance and sleaziness of most of the people who comment on websites.
A sentiment that is shared by many people with whom I’ve discussed those issues, many of whom no longer bother to read or to leave comments on blogs, mostly because they don’t want to associate with the packs of jackals on websites.
SPQR- Nice—Senatus populusque Romanus-The Senate and People of Rome—Much similar to the Senate and House of Representatives of the U.S.A….. Agreed, for I just left a couple of such websites behind me, in disgust.
It was nothing but nonstop blather from functional illiterates. People need to study their history, philosophy, current events, and yes…theology. Our educational system was to enable a citizenry to gather and decide, in order to participate and guide this republic.
Rather, endless and vacuous TV programming, computer gaming, eviscerated American history lessons and Godlessness, and general immorality have shown their power to dumb down Americans. The political elites now have their “Gumbies” to mold and lead as they wish. As one author put it—”A Nation of Sheep” is what we have in America.
I see that many have the misconception that the political “Right” is akin to “Fascist/Nazi”. Similarly, the “Left” is akin to ‘Communist. ‘
Rather, the “Fathers” saw the political scale as “Tyranny” (whatever color or origin on the “Left.” The right side of the scale was indicated to be “Anarchy.” Their goal was to maintain a balance between oppressive government and no government at all. Glenn Beck spoke of a “Reichstag Moment” and the bloggers went nuts with that. How many have actually read “Mein Kampf” or “Das Kapiital”? How many know of Saul Alynsky or Cloward and Pevin? How many know of the history of the “Progressives?” How many understand the U.S. Constitution? Too few!
Yes, a “Reichstag Moment” can easily fall on us in the U.S. How many will see it?
Der Fliegende Hirsch