Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Culture Warriors

This guy:
For as long as I can remember, I have heard conservatives blaming everything that is wrong in the universe, from violent crime to declining test scores to teen pregnancy to rude children to declining patriotism to probably athlete's foot  . . . upon Dr. Spock, Hollywood liberals, the abolition of prayer in school, Bill Clinton, the "liberal 1960s," the teaching of evolution — in other words, upon symbols, rhetoric, cultural norms, and the values expressed by political and media leaders. Yet from the moment when someone gets a gun in their hands, apparently, society ceases to have any influence whatsoever on the outcome and individual responsibility takes hold 100%.
This seems pretty reasonable to me, inasmuch as don't think for one second that right-wingers aren't desperately searching for a "BUSH SUX" tie lapel throughout the shooter's panic room, and vice-versa for the left if the roles were reversed. I'm pretty sure THEN they'll decide "hey, this was political!! Is BAAAAAAD!!!!" and not just Gary Busey after a few vodka gimlets. One side's claiming to not want to politicize a political assassination attempt is code for thinking "oh shit, it's my side that might've fucked up," which nobody wants to admit, but everybody does.

As to the quote above, Bill Clinton is still blamed for the degradation of our society because he got a blowjob, and yet we're supposed to believe that being pummeled daily with frenzied cries to reload and "stain the ground with the blood of tyrants!" et al is supposed to have no effect on even the most irrational among us? Then why are they saying it in the first place?

Of course what should be the biggest issue of all is that if I try to walk into an Arby's and act erratically, they'll escort me out without service (now THAT'S  a fucking tragedy!)  And yet if I've been labeled as a kook who's been fired from an animal shelter for being a nutjob, or asked by my college to please not return because my Facebook/YouTube rantings creeped them the fuck out, or got rejected by the Army even with not one but two wars going on, apparently I can still walk into a joint in Arizona and get not only a gun, but a "glock" assault weapon which I can then carry around concealed without a permit.  You know, to feed my family. It's fine and all to hide behind the 2nd Amendment, but at some point don't we have to recognize it wasn't written to provide unbending cover for the most irresponsible misuse we can come up with at any time?

I will leave it to Mr. Simon Wilder to provide the argument as evidence, and if that's not enough then I don't know what to tell you, since not only did With Honors feature the Jew from School Ties, but it's on the short list of the dumbest, most excrutiatingly corny, cringe-inducing movies of all time. I believe that makes this, respectfully, "checkmate!"

Simon Wilder: You asked the question, sir, now let me answer it. The beauty of the Constitution is that it can always be changed. The beauty of the Constitution is that it makes no set law other than faith in the wisdom of ordinary people to govern themselves.
Proffesor Pitkannan: Faith in the wisdom of the people is exactly what makes the Constitution incomplete and crude.
Simon Wilder: Crude? No, sir. Our "founding parents" were pompous, white, middle-aged farmers, but they were also great men. Because they knew one thing that all great men should know: that they didn't know everything. Sure, they'd make mistakes, but they made sure to leave a way to correct them. The president is not an "elected king," no matter how many bombs he can drop. Because the "crude" Constitution doesn't trust him. He's just a bum, okay Mr. Pitkannan? He's just a bum.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

That slow clap deserves a slow clap.