A Primer on the "Tone" of Today's Political Discourse...

[OneAngryDemocrat]

Contrary to what you have heard from the mainstream media, the "tone" of political discourse had absolutely nothing to do with the Tucson Massacre.

Discussing the "tone" of the political landscape, today, is putting the horse ahead of the cart.

It was the psychology of modern conservative philosophy that put a bullet into the back of Gabby Gifford's head, my friends - not the "tone" of our political speech.

Conservatives are blaming anything and everything for the Tucson Massacre except for modern-day conservatism, which preaches that liberals and democrats are the enemies of America and a bona fide threat to the nation's very existence.

I'll repeat that last paragraph for added emphasis:

Conservatives are blaming anything and everything for the Tucson Massacre except for modern-day conservatism, which preaches that liberals and democrats are the enemies of America and a bona fide threat to the nation's very existence.

And it is that same fallacious conservative belief that liberals will destroy America that is setting the "tone" of our current political discourse - not the other way around.

And as long as that is the case, as long as modern American conservatism puts forth the precept that liberals and democrats are the enemies of America and a bona fide threat to the nation's very existence, the bodies will continue to pile up.

Only the most naive of political observers could ever fail to see the obvious consequences of proclaiming that any group of Americans was a "threat" to their existence or the existence of the nation and not realize that different people would deal with that "threat" in different ways.

Furthermore, discussing the ''tone'' of today's political discourse merely leads into the false moral equivalency argument about how "both sides do it."

Pretending that liberals are shooting conservatives (when they are emphatically not) directly plays into the false conservative mind-set that liberals are a threat to conservatives, which is precisely why conservatives are, in fact, killing liberals, in the first place!

(Anyone needing a list of victims of conservative terrorism can just ask me - I've got one handy.)

Therefore, we must reach the conclusion that even discussing the ''tone'' of current plitical discourse reinforces, in today's conservative psyche, that liberals are out to get them.

It is the conservative belief that liberals are a threat that HAS to be dispelled, and that will not happen by RE-INFORCING conservative fallacies.

When conservative leaders finally stand up and tell their more fanatical followers that liberals will not destroy America, that democrats are not out to "get" republicans, the murders of innocent liberal democrats will come to an end.

But not until then.

Del Wasso,
Rockford Coffee Party Coordinator,
Rockford, Illinois,
www.rockfordcoffeeparty.org

[wishlist]

1. Current rightwing mantra: "It's not Rep vs Dem anymore, It's Good Vs Evil"

The demonizing conservative ideology has become pervasive and mainstream. I had read some hateful vitriolic articles by conservatives on the internet where Dems were attacked as villains out to destroy everything good in America but I was still shocked last fall to see ads in local papers by Repub Party making this flat-out extreme claim. And disappointed that there was little response from the Democratic leaders or the local media requesting a retraction of this extreme position. Our local Democratic candidates overwhelmingly won including Congressman but seems like much of our state (NC) and the country voted for the extremists.

[OneAngryDemocrat]

5. I Do NOT Want to Make A Nazi Comparison, But...

I don't want to make a Nazi comparison, but the mind-set is the same.

It is the same in that the bigotry of some conservatives (not all, and not most) towards their liberal neighbors has crossed a line into a delusional place wherein liberals and democrats are a perceived to be threat to their conservative existence, and conservatives honestly believe that they are actually "victims" who are being "victimized" by their liberal democratic neighbors.

And that's when the trouble begins.

As most people would probalbly agree,"victims" have the liberty of self-defense.

And to those conservatives who have crossed that line, rising up against their victimizer makes perfect sense.

And that's where the Nazi comparison comes in: The Nazis had the same fear towards Jews, that some conservatives hold liberals and democrats, today.

[OneAngryDemocrat]

6. Bingo

Bingo

[malaise]

2. Will MSGreedia ever touch this subject

I doubt it.

[OneAngryDemocrat]

7. bump

[xchrom]

3. recommend

[OneAngryDemocrat]

8. bump

[el_bryanto]

4. I don't think even that would do it.

Rather I think that if that crybaby in charge of the House were to stand up and say exactly that he'd be decried as a sell out and a RINO and tragically naive.

Limbaugh could do it, but wouldn't.

Bryant

[OneAngryDemocrat]

9. bump

[hootinholler]

10. The man has a point. n/t