But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. ~ Matthew 12:36 (NIV)
My last post (before today), in which I called Barack Obama a condescending jackass, was not intended to be my last post for 6 days. I had planned on replacing it right off with something more substantial. But then, I hurt my shoulder. And then, I sprained my pinky and it was too painful to type, even without using that finger. So, that post stayed on top of my blog for 6 days.
I wasn’t happy about that. But it gave me a chance to think about what this blog stands for – and it is not drive-by comments the consist on nothing more than name-calling, whether or not the shoe fits.
See, I still think that Obama is a condescending jackass, but I am capable of illustrating that point in a more dignified and thought-provoking way.
What I chose to do only made me look like a jackass or, worse, a simpleton who is incapable of articulating a well thought out presentation.
Just this morning, my children were complaining about doing their language arts lesson. I was explaining to them that mastery of the English language, in both spoken and written forms, is necessary in order to be successful in life. It is not simply enough to have good ideas, but one must be able to communicate those ideas, using proper grammar, in order to be taken seriously.
Quite often, I do get frustrated at the way people on the left insult the intelligence of people on the right, but I needn’t blog my first reaction, the visceral response. That rarely leads to anything productive.
Instead, I and my readers would be better served with something a little more thoughtful.
Why does Obama feel the need to insult the intelligence of people who disagree with him? How do those comments help or hurt him in the election? How has the You Tubing of every word spoken by a candidate changed electoral politics in this country? Why do some people vote “against their self interest”? Are they confused, or is there a good reason? What is self interest, when it comes to how we cast our votes?
There are countless ways I could have written about that Obama quote, ways that would have contributed more to the discussion, required more of me and of my readers, and resulted in a post that I would be proud of, rather than slightly ashamed.
It might seem like I am making too big a deal out of this. After all, it is just a political blog, and an ideological one at that. These are the kinds of things that one can expect on such a blog.
You might not expect more from me, but I do expect more from myself.
Words do matter.
So, I apologize for calling Obama a jackass. I should have been more mature in my response.
September 23rd, 2008 at 6:05 pm
“Why does Obama feel the need to insult the intelligence of people who disagree with him?”
Look, this happens from *both* sides of the fence unfortunately. Those of us that were opposed to the Iraq War from the get-go were marginalized as being “unpatriotic” & as being unable to understand the “threats” that we were facing in a “post-9/11 world”. Don’t think that there weren’t quite a few people that were pissed off at that kind of talk either.
“Why do some people vote ‘against their self interest’? Are they confused, or is there a good reason? What is self interest, when it comes to how we cast our votes?”
There are many on the Left that get quite confused and frustrated when they see their fellow Americans voting for a Party that (they feel of course) does not have the best economic interests of most Americans. People on the Left, IMHO, are quite puzzled at people on the Right that vote based on a core set of issues that are mostly related to religion or personality. Saying that those on the Right are “confused” because they don’t vote the way that we on the Left think that they should IS a put-down, and I think it’s meant to be a put-down.
One of my favorite phrases to use in these types of situations is “wake up!”…as if people can be shocked out their stupor, which most people really can’t be or don’t want to be. It’s frustrating…a lot of times people end up talking right past one another, which is *very* counter-productive.
“It might seem like I am making too big a deal out of this.”
You are, but that’s OK.
September 23rd, 2008 at 10:50 pm
I wasn’t going to mention this before, but since you did a whole new post on the ‘jackass’ thing with an emphasis on using language effectively, I may as well go for it now. Your original statement was…
“And Obama is a jackass. A condescending one at that.”
The post points out a statement Obama made which you feel is condescending. It seems clear that the reason you’re calling him a jackass is because of the condescension. However your phrase taken literally indicates you think he’s a jackass for another reason, and that the condescension was over and above that.
You may feel he’s a jackass for reasons other than being condescending, but there was no evidence of that in the post itself. Therefore since you’re accusing him of condescension on top of being a jackass, and not accusing him of being a jackass because of the condescension, your assertion that he is a jackass is, in fact, baseless.
I think it’s more likely that you meant he’s a jackass because he’s condescending, in which case it may have been more effective to use a concise phrase such as “Obama is condescending,” or “Obama is a jackass,” Neither phrases is nice or true, but either would have allowed the post to have completed its own logical circuit, without relying on and assumption of jackassyness from outside itself.
September 24th, 2008 at 10:56 am
I find it much more insulting that McCain assumes we’re all stupid, as he lies continuously nowadays. But I’m sure that doesn’t bother you in the least, right?
September 24th, 2008 at 11:27 am
Obama and his campaign (and liberal bloggers) lie daily. This whole election is a mess.
Oh, by the way, please show me where I am shilling for McCain. I do not like McCain and I have said as much.
I just happen to dislike Obama more.
And McCain has yet to outright insult me. At least during this campaign.
September 24th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
Picking Palin didn’t insult your intelligence?
Saying his campaign director didn’t take money from Fannie Mae when he was working for them until the takeover last week didn’t insult your intelligence?
Saying the economy is strong didn’t insult your intelligence?
Lying about ’sex ed for kindergartners” didn’t insult your intelligence?
McCain suggesting we go after Iraq, Iran and Syria after 9-11 didn’t insult your intelligence?
Can McCain even insult your intelligence? Can anything?
You’re not shilling for him, but you’re not exactly calling him out on anything, either. You never do, other than mild, tepid criticism. It’s only bad when liberals do things.
Still nothing about how much money and life we’re pissing away in Iraq. Nothing about how deregulation facilitated this mess, or how we shouldn’t be trusting the people who got us in this mess get us out of it. Nothing about how McCain was involved in one of the biggest S&L scandals. Silence. Because deep down in your heart, you probably know it’s all indefensible.
Bob Barr looking better yet?
September 25th, 2008 at 8:13 am
JD, a
couplebunch of things here.1. She’s RIGHT. By “right,” I mean conservative. You know? Not liberal. I am not going to blog about the same things you would. But that’s why you have your own 2 blogs. Certainly, I would not blog about the same things you do, but I don’t bother criticizing you for what you DON’T blog about. I comment on what you do blog about.
2. I have literally hundreds of things that I wanted to blog about but didn’t (and I mean literally). In case you forgot, I homeschool three kids. One of those kids has special needs. I do not have time to blog about every thing that goes on in my head. At this very moment, I have no fewer than 4 lengthy posts swirling around in my head that I may or may not get a chance to blog about. (And I also have 2 other blogs and am trying to get my home business off the ground.)
I am sorry if I haven’t thoroughly vetted McCain.
At some point, I hope to fully summarize my thoughts on both candidates, pros and cons.
3. There are scores of liberal blogs, not to mention “impartial” newspapers, that have covered every negative thing they can find on McCain (and Palin), whether true or not, ad nauseam.
4. Any of the undesirable things that McCain or his campaign has done or said came even close to directly insulting people who disagree with him (ie. calling them “bitter” or “confused”). I also have to note that it is patently false to claim that there is more spin or untruthiness coming from McCain than from Obama.
5. I thought Sarah Palin was a great pick.
September 25th, 2008 at 8:20 am
Well, trust me, nobody thought you meant “correct”. All I’m saying is you give McCain a pass. All the time.
Obama was wrong to call them “bitter’ or “confused”. “Ill-informed” would have been much better.
It’s patently true that there are many many more lies and untruths coming from the McCain campaign.
Palin is a completely unqualifeid, power-hungry moron, Dick Cheney with a skirt, and less brains. Anyone who thinks that dinosaurs and people walked the earth at the same time is tremendously unqualified to be dog catcher, let alone a 72-year old heartbeat away from the presidency. Why you conservatives continue to hold incompetence and anti-intellectualism up as signs of personal virtue completely escapes me.
September 25th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
“I also have to note that it is patently false to claim that there is more spin or untruthiness coming from McCain than from Obama.”
That’s just ridiculous…the McSame TV ads that I’ve seen have been ripe with falsehoods, half-truths, and outright lies.
September 25th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
“…ripe with falsehoods…”
I think you mean “rife.”