Check out this post it's a must read. The author is a news guy with MSNBC, Keith Olbermann who I remember as a funny guy from local LA news when I lived there. He reminisces about 9/11 and pulls absolutely no punches when it comes to the current administration and the president. Having the courage to write and support this makes me really like Olbermann and MSNBC.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Bravery: Keith Olbermann's Blog
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3 comments:
I guess by this definition, Ann Coulter has lots of "courage" too. This type of spittle-flinging name calling may feel good, but Olberman fails to even note the irony of the fact that the hateful diviseness of people like himself (and Coulter) have squandered as mcuh goodwill as Bush has. The reason there is still a hole in Manhattan has nothing to do with Bush and everything to do with the fact that some people (like Olberman) wish the site to be a memorial to America's failures rather than one of courage, sacrifice and hope.
I thought he was pretty easy on Bush, considering. And his main attack is aimed at the atempts to squash debate, desent and basic democratic freedoms, that's very differnt and far more acceptable than the kind of dismissive hate of people and their reasoned point of view that the likes of Ann Coulter fosters.
Sadly no matter which is substantively more worthy (or right vs wrong) most of the left pour scorn on people through passionate debate based on solid arguments where as the right seem happier to try and win debates by veilled slander, heavy spin or simply branding people as unpatriotic, unamerican etc etc
Clearly, you have not followed this man much in the last few years. Smashing an Ann Coulter action doll on his desk until it is in many pieces (not for comedic effect either) or openly calling the current administration treasonous or shouting down guests or swearing at others on TV is not my view of passionate "debate", or courage, for that matter. I am simply tired of this form of entertainment from both sides of the political spectrum.
While you make valid complaints about some on the right who use labels as weapons, if you really think the left is above all this, spend five minutes in the comments at Daily Kos, the leading left-leaning site. It is loaded with patently racist, hateful, threatening or other forms of uncivil rhetoric. I guess it all depends on how one defines a "solid argument".
To keep to the higher ground, I think we are still in a phase where we are adjusting to the liberating aspects of the web. I still remember the first post I ever made on a blog. I penned the perfect rhetorical rant in response to some fool's post. Five seconds after posting it, I realized the futility of the effort and felt my effort was kinda childish and a waste of time too.
Olberman or Coulter can make nice incomes selling hate books but their audiences are tiny and I can't help but hope people will tire of the form since novelty really is the wellspring of our culture. The rant as "persuasive" rhetoric feels about over to me.
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