Posted on 07/12/2013 2:16:28 PM PDT by neverdem
One of the axioms utilized by H.L. Mencken in analyzing politics in the United States stated that Americans were unable to grasp arguments on their face and instead needed them recast in pure Manichean terms, with the most repellent of devils on one side and the purest of angels on the other.
Mencken was on to something there, something that still holds true today, as is shown by the debate concerning the NSA scandal. This scandal is being fought out -- particularly among conservatives -- on purely Manichean grounds. Certain commentators insist that since the NSA operates to protect national security, this in and of itself ends the argument. The opposite side claims that the NSA programs in question, from Prism and Tempora on down, are tools of Satan (i.e., Barack Obama -- well, he was in that Bible miniseries, wasn't he?) intended to uproot the Constitution and replace it with a Big Brother-style dictatorship.
The same dichotomy occurs with Edward J. Snowden, the NSA functionary who revealed the information. Divided into almost identical cohorts, one crowd condemns Snowden as a criminal, some to the point of accusing him of treason, while their opposite numbers hail him as a...
--snip--
There exist certain priorities at this point, chief among them reforming the NSA and related organizations and assuring that this thing is pinned to Obama from here to eternity. Seen in that light, both the national security and traitor/hero debates are no more than distractions. The danger now is that scandals that should, by any sane measure, be crippling to the Obama administration will instead take down the conservative movement. Our elites must not seek explanations in malice when stupidity is enough, and the Snowden on Rushmore crowd needs to be a little less desperate in its need for heroes.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
Sane analysis.
One of his former political partners, now residing in a cell in the Federal Correctional Institution, Englewood, once referred to a vacant senatorship as a "valuable f*ckin' t'ing." Obama found a lot of "valuable f*ckin' t'ings" when he got to Washington, among them the NSA.
FYI
. The opposite side claims that the NSA programs in question, from Prism and Tempora on down, are tools of Satan (i.e., Barack Obama -- well, he was in that Bible miniseries, wasn't he?) intended to uproot the Constitution and replace it with a Big Brother-style dictatorship.
One of the axioms utilized by H.L. Mencken in analyzing politics in the United States stated that Americans were unable to grasp arguments on their face and instead needed them recast in pure Manichean terms, with the most repellent of devils on one side and the purest of angels on the other.
One of the axioms utilized by H.L. Mencken in analyzing politics in the United States stated that Americans were unable to grasp arguments on their face and instead needed them recast in pure Manichean terms, with the most repellent of devils on one side and the purest of angels on the other.
***I’ve been trying to recapture this quote, couldn’t remember where I had heard it. Thanks for posting this article.
I’ve seen this axiom come into play right here on FR. On some religion threads, some badcopnodonut threads, some LENR threads, and other threads. It is disheartening to see this logical fallacy lent credulity on FR.
Seems to me that the writer needs to reconsider putting a strawman on Mount Rushmore.
I don’t think Snowden is a hero nor do I think he’s the super villain that some soviet style propagandists are trying to make him out to be. More than anything he’s a distraction from NSA jobs program for contractors who justify their existence with some vague yet unprovable claim that they’re keeping us safe.
Constantly. Some freepers can't ever get to the point of calmly and rationally discussing ideas because they are so intent on vilifying whomever they disagree with, not only on the Left, but also on the Right. This happens with the Left all the time as well. The utter hatred for Bush always amazed me. It was as if he was the devil himself. But, if Mencken is correct in his analysis, that is how the Left saw and continues to see him. At the same time, the Left continues to paint Obama as the "purest of angels", as Mencken put it. Obama is sinless and beyond reproach.
Unfortunately, I can’t find this quote on various quotation websites. Do you know where Mencken said this?
As long as we do not know what to really look for in clearing people this will happen. We look at the wrong indicators (signs of misbehavior)....and have for 40 years....and the spying never stops. Duh.
Yes. It isn't "Manichean" at all. I understand both sides, but, at this point, think Snowden has done us all a great service in exposing what's going on. Evidently, the government-insiders knew all along and, so, claim that this was all known.
Well, it wasn't known to us, though we may have suspected.
And have you noticed we are told he’s done severe damage to the country but they won’t tell us exactly what that damage is. It’s secret. Like 90% of what the Federal Government does.
Trust us, he did great damage. Well we’ve had an unending string of reasons not to trust them.
You are conflating bad manners with logical thinking. Breaking an issue into binaries can be a useful tool in making sense of the world. This is an important concept in Jewish thinking.
For instance, Do you want to expand the Federal government or do you want to shrink the Federal government. At one level it really is that simple.
One of the weaknesses in the clearance process is the full-scope poly. It’s fine on a 40-year old (or older) IT professional because they have lots of background to cover, but how much background can you cover on a 19 or 21-year old? Something they did in computer club? Yet these are the wunderkinds they’re hiring.
It's been a real eye-opener for me to watch the likes of Cheney and Bolton [both of whom I once admired greatly] call this guy a traitor with no more evidence than his letting us know just the types of data the NSA is collecting.
GOPe much? Boy, I think I'm becoming radicalized.
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