Posted on 03/09/2015 12:31:57 PM PDT by Kaslin
Political discourse has degenerated in recent years into petty insults and fake offendedness. Instead of debating the merits of issues, the focus in politics has changed to gotcha moments. Social media and TV shows are nauseatingly full of them. Both the insults and the hyped up responses are wrong, but how do you correct the problem? If you dare criticize the petty insults, you’re accused of trampling on free speech. If you criticize the fake offendedness, you are labeled sexist, racist or similar. It is a vicious and unproductive cycle that has squeezed out real debate.
The truth is, the petty insults and fake offendedness are nothing more than drivel. If you have nothing to say but drivel, keep it to yourself. Just because you have a mouth, does not mean every thought that comes to your head should be spoken. The Bible is full of timeless wisdom like Ephesians 5:4: “Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.”
Notice you never hear about amazing speeches anymore. When was the last time you heard of a speech like Ronald Reagan’s “Shining city on a hill?” Instead of analyzing speeches on the merits, they are now picked apart for gotchas. Scott Walker, who arguably came out the best of any other GOP presidential candidate at CPAC last month, is mostly remembered for a gotcha moment in his speech there. Twenty years ago, no one would have blinked at him saying in regards to ISIS, “If I can take on 100,000 protesters, I can do the same across the globe.” Today, even allies on the right jumped all over his statement.
This has all come about due to the left forcing political correctness everywhere and eliminating God - with the except of the Islamic religion - from the public sphere. By taking out Judeo-Christian morality from society, people have become less kind and thoughtful. Try watching a typical movie from 1990; the polite way everyone behaves is like a breath of fresh air. Generations X and older remember when this was standard behavior in society. Now, politeness stands out because it is no longer the norm. Genteel political shows like Firing Line have been replaced with Playboy political analysts, vicious pundits like Rachel Maddow and egotistical libertines who think nothing of peppering their talking points with profanity. People no longer think before opening their mouths and insulting someone. What used to be common sense has been replaced with “I am awesome, I can say anything I want, I will not be censored.”
Now there are a few on the right who have crossed this line for years, like Ann Coulter. But she does it as part of an act to be humorous, and she is bright enough to pull it off. Not everyone can be an Ann Coulter; they will never be witty or funny enough. And in person, she is very pleasant.
Church attendance is declining due to pushing God out of the public sphere, and of the churches that remain, many are becoming watered down and politically correct. Many say, “Well I have a friend who is an atheist and he is a much better person than most Christians I know.” That may be true, but are those atheists teaching children and others good values in atheist churches? No, atheists generally do not engage in activities like that. The Bible is full of verses like Ephesians 4:32 that fewer children are learning: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Forcing political correctness on society has created a hypersensitive type of human who finds offense at everything. Consequently, good people are terrified of running for office, afraid the slightest remark will be used against them to destroy their reputation and career. Terrifyingly, the left has found this technique to be so effective it now makes up stories of gaffes by conservatives.
Social media has brought with it an unpleasant democratization of politics. @DivaPrincess’s tweet carries just as much weight as the president; anyone can see it and it can reach anyone. But there is a reason why we have a representative democracy, not a straight democracy. Not everyone is capable of being a responsible leader in politics. Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter have helped weaken that system, by giving the rudest people in society a platform for their opinions that is in some ways equal to the media platform of elected officials - and they can easily surpass them merely by increasing their followers, posting more often, and/or paying to increase their presence.
Even conservatives are buying into the gotcha game, because society has become so sensationalized. It is similar to an addiction; the louder and cruder everyone becomes, the more we all become desensitized, so it escalates. The only way to get your voice heard is to be louder and more outrageous than everyone else, so people are saying ridiculous things and shaming others for doing so at an alarming level. Pretty soon almost everyone will have at least one “scandal” written about them on the Internet.
So how do we raise the level of discourse? By not being afraid to call out the cheap talk as drivel. Skip the rude personal attacks and stick to just labeling the garbage for what it is. It is not censorship of free speech to label it such; by using that twisted logic you could say that trying to shut someone up for labeling it as drivel is also censorship. Censorship of the First Amendment must involve the government in some manner, such as the government censoring a newspaper. A private party making critical comments does not invoke the First Amendment.
Would Ronald Reagan’s “Shining city on a hill” speech have become a legend today? Probably not. Instead, he would have been excoriated for advocating to put God back in the schools and denouncing Communism, out-of-wedlock births, government make-work programs and the welfare state.
It will not be easy to stop the sensationalism. It probably will require those with influence and charisma to set an example by focusing on the real issues while labeling everything else drivel. Otherwise, we will continue the slide into a nation of degenerates.
I agree with what Rachel wrote here. I don’t see how it changes, though.
Maybe one family at a time.
Rational discourse, parliamentary procedure, and true debate requires that both sides adhere to certain rules, like ackknowledging facts, ceding points etc. Problem is that the commie filth that now infiltrates every aspect of our lives knows no such rules. They intentionally lie, obfuscate, resort to personal attacks, ignore facts, and generally will not cooperate with any sort of ‘debate’.
And the commie filth have, through the dumbed-down educational system, deprived people of the willingness to think.
Then, however, even the young men (Jefferson was only 33 when he wrote the Declaration of Independence) had studied the history of nations and recognized tyranny when they saw it.
Of greater importance, though, they could articulate the ideas essential to liberty clearly and convincingly so that "the people" could participate in the battle against those who sought to rule over them.
Today, we need thought leaders who can call youth to a clear rejection of the tired old ideas of tyranny which dominate so-called "progressive" politics of 2015.
We must not overlook, however, what the Founders of the American Republic called, the role of "Divine Providence," whose pathway to the minds and hearts of youth can bypass even the most ardent and determined efforts of those so-called "progressives." whose only cause is the promotion of themselves to power.
We have some responsibility ourselves for directing attention of youth to the ideas of the Founders, all to be found online now, not in some dark stacks on remote floors of university libraries, where, over decades the so-called "progressive" forces in education relegated them once they had removed them from classrooms, school libraries, and public sight.
"The liberties of our Country, the freedom of our civil constitution are worth defending at all hazards: And it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have receiv'd them as a fair Inheritance from our worthy Ancestors: They purchas'd them for us with toil and danger and expence of treasure and blood; and transmitted them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle; or be cheated out of them by the artifices of false and designing men. Of the latter we are in most danger at present: Let us therefore be aware of it. Let us contemplate our forefathers and posterity; and resolve to maintain the rights bequeath'd to us from the former, for the sake of the latter. - Instead of sitting down satisfied with the efforts we have already made, which is the wish of our enemies, the necessity of the times, more than ever, calls for our utmost circumspection, deliberation, fortitude, and perseverance. Let us remember that "if we suffer tamely a lawless attack upon our liberty, we encourage it, and involve others in our doom." It is a very serious consideration, which should deeply impress our minds, that millions yet unborn may be the miserable sharers of the event." Samuel Adams - Essay in the Boston Gazette, October 14, 1771"When designs are form'd to raze the very foundation of a free government, those few who are to erect their grandeur and fortunes upon the general ruin, will employ every art to sooth the devoted people into a state of indolence, inattention and security, which is forever the fore-runner of slavery." - Article signed "Candidus," in Boston Gazette, December 9, 1771
"If the public are bound to yield obedience to laws to which they cannot give their approbation, they are slaves to those who make such laws and enforce them." Samuel Adams- As Candidus in the Boston Gazette, January 20, 1772
"The right to freedom being the gift of God Almighty, it is not in the power of man to alienate this gift and voluntarily become a slave... These may be best understood by reading and carefully studying the institutes of the great Law Giver and Head of the Christian Church, which are to be found clearly written and promulgated in the New Testament." Samuel Adams - Rights of the Colonists, November 20, 1772
"It is the greatest absurdity to suppose it in the power of one, or any number of men, at the entering into society, to renounce their essential natural rights, or the means of preserving those rights; when the grand end of civil government, from the very nature of its institution, is for the support, protection, and defence of those very rights; the principal of which, as is before observed, are Life, Liberty, and Property. If men, through fear, fraud, or mistake, should in terms renounce or give up any essential natural right, the eternal law of reason and the grand end of society would absolutely vacate such renunciation. The right to freedom being the gift of God Almighty, it is not in the power of man to alienate this gift and voluntarily become a slave." - The Rights of the Colonists, November 20, 1772
"Is it now high time for the people of this country to explicitly declare whether they will be free men or slaves. It is an important question which ought to be decided. It concerns more than anything in this life. The salvation of our souls is interested in this event. For wherever tyranny is established, immorality of every kind comes in like a torrent, it is in the interest of tyrants to reduce the people to ignorance and vice.” - Samuel Adams
And:
“The utopian schemes of leveling and a community of goods, are as visionary and impractical as those which vest all property in the crown. These ideas are arbitrary, despotic, and, in our government unconstitutional.” - Samuel Adams
If we could do away with Hollywood and public schools, the problem could be fixed within a couple decades.
Mass media has been subverted by the Left. The tower of babel has collapsed. The cable channels and the broadcast networks have lost significant audience numbers.
Audience SHARE means nothing when the people have tuned out in general
The now content from socialist networking sites like twitter and facebook and youtube are regularly broadcast on the evening news AS news. “A clip posted to youtube”, “a staffer of a congressman tweeted yesterday...”, “a facebook post...”.
The world does not happen on the internet.
News programs (tv and radio) and print use the internet to measure how many people are groking their content. Pimp for clickthroughs and Likes.
Debate has not been on honest terms for some time now (what with all of the lies of the leftist politicians that have been exposed and all of the shoulder shrugging from their supporters). As for the uncivil tone, candidate Obama was the one who told his troops “get in their faces!”.
There are die-hard Democrats abusing the powers of their taxpayer jobs to advance the agenda.
You’ll find them in the FBI, IRS, EPA, and parks department.
Recall that it was some police department staffers in Ohio who leaked personal information to the media in 2008 when “Joe the Plumber” made Obama look bad. The media ignored the story at first; it wasn’t until the debate when his name came up and the media had to provide cover. Out of the gate the public was told that “Joe the Plumber” was a catchall term like “Joe sixpack”. Then they said he’s really real but his name isn’t Joe, he’s not a plumber, and he’s a “deadbeat dad” (or some similar charge).
Liberals CAN be deprogrammed. Rush has had callers that tell of their changed lives.
After 9/11 some libs woke up/grew up. Some did momentarily and then backslid.
But consider the indoctrination they have received their whole lives from the education and entertainment establishment. It'd be like turning on family or losing your religion.
See "Uncle Walter" Cronkite as some kind of old crank? Unthinkable.
Go over to the dark side of profit and personal growth? Scandalous.
Don't want to be called a "sell out". Barack himself knew of the pejorative when he was in college, so he alligned himself with the Marxist professors (by choice/peer pressure).
Stalinists lie. ALWAYS
As far as Hollywood goes I agree with you there
As always thanks for an excellent comment
Notice you never hear about amazing speeches anymore. When was the last time you heard of a speech like Ronald Reagan’s “Shining city on a hill?”
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Zell Miller’s speech at the republican nominating convention.
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