Justin and I went and saw a film about depleted uranium weapons last night. We came home and ranted to each other for half an hour afterwards.
Why, oh, why do lefties (I might have said "my fellow lefties" and I don't mean southpaws) tend so often to eschew a fact-based approach to arguments? Why do they tend toward hysteria, fear-mongering and prurient sensationalism?
Why do I so often feel frustrated and embarrassed when people speak up on behalf of values I hold and issues I care about? I know there are plenty of rightwing nutcases (like on much of talk-radio) who also avoid facts and logic and depend on base emotional reactions to make their points, but I find it so much worse when it's coming from educated people with whom I basically agree.
It seems so obvious that if you want a movement to be more than seven guys with beards and 20 hairy-armpitted women (and I'm one a them wimmin), you need to make appeals to the people who aren't there.
I remember Justin coming back from an anti-war rally in Chico asking why the music at protests has to be singer-songwriters on acoustic guitars (and we like sensitive singer-songwriters on acoustic guitars). It's part of the same problem. I guess it's always more comfortable to preach to the choir than to go to the streets where someone might ask you a hard question.
Maybe it bugs me because I,too, would rather just repeat what I feel to be true than to do the research myself, and I, too, find it easier to hang out with "like-minded" people than to seek out people with whom I'm likely to disagree on fundamental issues.
End of rant!
Bittersweet
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Eyal and I always knew that it would be difficult building a family from
two different countries. It is just now, however, that we have to really
put that ...
12 years ago
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Quite likely it is just a particular group of people that have that 'hysteria, fear-mongering and prurient sensationalism', for example if you look to Mr. GW Bush and colleagues (little Johnny etc.) you see a fair bit of the same kind of thing ( just that they ironed their suits), on the other hand there are plenty of people, both left and right that think about and discuss issues as though they were logical human beings. I wouldnt worry about it to much I really think that every group of people has a sub group that are not all that savvy to the facts and just want to rant and rave and feel important.
Since I am ranting anyway I might as well tell you a story.. when I was about 12 Boral Co. came and started logging the old growth near Elands without so much as a sniff at the Environmental Impact Reports showing all sorts of little endangered animals etc. (not mention bloody huge trees). I was at an age to be excited byt eh prospect of protesting and was caught up in the huge wave of 'dont worry about school today lets go adn protest' followed by the 'all timber getters ( police, truck drivers etc.) are redneck dickheads etc. My father was maybe one of hte few people in elands who became very upset about this and gave us all 9 the kids) long raves showing our ignorance by hating people ( throwing rocks at trucks etc.) and tried to make us understand it was a buisness negotiation and that we should try adn maintain respect for all sides.
This was a big wake up call for me and i often think about how important it is to respect all human people, but of course feel free to wildly disagree from there beliefs.
I think I have diverged somewhat.. but that is the manner of a rant!
We want updates!!! How is it to be back in Katherine?? How was your New Years etc.
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