Scholarship table
I would contend that the major item leading to this public viciousness occurred 4 years later when "Oxy" Limbaugh went on the air.
Certainly Limbaugh is a big part of the problem. We used to have people like William F Buckley Jr and Daniel Patrick Moynihan on public TV debating political philosophy. Now it's Sean Hannity and Lawrence O'Donnell name calling and spewing hatred. It's the Hatfields and the McCoys, and both sides point fingers insisting the other guy started it. We're on the brink, and anyone willing to be reasonable is in short supply.
Conceptually, there's nothing sad about voting for someone who you believe represents who you are. Yet for every person who voted for Trump believing that he was representative of them, there was probably 2 or 3 more people who were simply voting against HRC. The ratio was probably even higher for people who voted "against" Trump rather than "for" HRC.Listen... I have no problem with someone who uses their vote as a protest against another, but what I do have a problem is how the opinion-shapers who disguise protest in hatred... that's not good for anyone, regardless of what your political belief is.We either hang together or we all hang separately. Doesn't mean we have to hold the same beliefs. But the hate-mongering needs to stop because it's leading to exactly what we witnessed in DC this week. What's most disgusting about the whole thing is not just how both sides are using the incident to advance their own agenda, it's how polarized Americans have become to the point where we simply allow our politicians to act this way because we'd rather have power than unity.
There is no market for "reasonable." Remember the McLaughlin Group? That seems so quaint now.
I remember the first time I listened to Limbaugh. I laughed, thinking he was doing satire, never believing he was serious or that there were people who would actually take him seriously. Oops. IMO, the accelerating decline of modern political discourse can be traced to Rush and to Newt Gingrich. In the 1994 election cycle, his Contract with America involved having Republicans call Democrats insane, deranged, dangerous etc. Again, I thought that no one would take him seriously, that the American electorate would react negatively to such tactics. It just shows my naivete. I remember the LaRouche supporters back in the 80's, when the vast majority of society treated them as whack-jobs. No more. I remember the first true political scandal I was old enough to understand, Iran-Contra. I marveled that anybody involved with that could actually stay out of jail. Instead, they became heroes and returned to be in charge in future administrations. My political instincts are liberal. My religious instincts are liberal. I believe that greed is a sin. That I am my brother's keeper. That we are called to be steward's of this planet and try to leave it better than we found it. That health care is a right, not a privilege. I don't like the person I become when I allow myself to be drawn into demonizing opposing viewpoints. The kind of violence we saw this week is abhorrent to me. And yet, there are those who will use it as an opportunity. There are those who will take my beliefs and conclude that I kill babies for fun and hate America. We have met the enemy, and it is us.
Certainly Limbaugh is a big part of the problem. We used to have people like William F Buckley Jr and Daniel Patrick Moynihan on public TV debating political philosophy. Now it's Sean Hannity and Lawrence O'Donnell name calling and spewing hatred.
One could make the same points about far left political commentators.
I've spun the radio dial and can't find any.
Teal, right? Oh yeah, no one wanted to listen to air America, but surely you can find NPR somewhere
TAMUI do know, Newsie is right on you knowing ball.
I understand that NPR is liberal. I also don't listen very often. Usually only on long car rides with my mom. But I can't think of a time where anyone on NPR attacked conservatives with the same kind of language that Tower described in his post about Rush Limbaugh.[/quoteYou must have missed Nina totenbergs shows and "fresh air with terry gross" not exactly wishing well on some from the other side, including judge Clarence Thomas and general jerry Boykin oh yeah, and did I say this is tax payer subsidized? I better just hang up and listen as this ain't leading to good things, eyn'al?
Quote from: TAMU Eagle on June 16, 2017, 06:26:56 PMI understand that NPR is liberal. I also don't listen very often. Usually only on long car rides with my mom. But I can't think of a time where anyone on NPR attacked conservatives with the same kind of language that Tower described in his post about Rush Limbaugh.You must have missed Nina totenbergs shows and "fresh air with terry gross" not exactly wishing well on some from the other side, including judge Clarence Thomas and general jerry Boykin oh yeah, and did I say this is tax payer subsidized? I better just hang up and listen as this ain't leading to good things, eyn'al?
I understand that NPR is liberal. I also don't listen very often. Usually only on long car rides with my mom. But I can't think of a time where anyone on NPR attacked conservatives with the same kind of language that Tower described in his post about Rush Limbaugh.
You must have missed Nina totenbergs shows and "fresh air with terry gross" not exactly wishing well on some from the other side, including judge Clarence Thomas and general jerry Boykin oh yeah, and did I say this is tax payer subsidized? I better just hang up and listen as this ain't leading to good things, eyn'al?
One could make the same points about far left political commentators. Neither side is specifically to blame (though each side likes to blame the other). This is something that has been built over a long period of time and the media perpetuates it because it has made news organizations and political commentators a lot of money and, unfortunately, it will continue to do so.A sports reporter's job is much easier when the team they cover is struggling. It's no different for news reporters.
I remember the first time I listened to Limbaugh. I laughed, thinking he was doing satire, never believing he was serious or that there were people who would actually take him seriously. Oops. IMO, the accelerating decline of modern political discourse can be traced to Rush and to Newt Gingrich. In the 1994 election cycle, his Contract with America involved having Republicans call Democrats insane, deranged, dangerous etc. Again, I thought that no one would take him seriously, that the American electorate would react negatively to such tactics. It just shows my naivete. I remember the LaRouche supporters back in the 80's, when the vast majority of society treated them as whack-jobs. No more. I remember the first true political scandal I was old enough to understand, Iran-Contra. I marveled that anybody involved with that could actually stay out of jail. Instead, they became heroes and returned to be in charge in future administrations. My political instincts are liberal. My religious instincts are liberal. I believe that greed is a sin. That I am my brother's keeper. That we are called to be steward's of this planet and try to leave it better than we found it. That health care is a right, not a privilege. I don't like the person I become when I allow myself to be drawn into demonizing opposing viewpoints. The kind of violence we saw this week is abhorrent to me. And yet, there are those who will use it as an opportunity. There are those, even on this board, who will take my beliefs and conclude that I kill babies for fun and hate America. We have met the enemy, and it is us.
As our streets are flooded with protesters in Minnesota, #BanHammer
(well, Rachel Maddow would count...but she is just the left wing Hannity).
Just to tie this thread all together...Any informed voter who was a strong supporter of voted for either Trump or Hillary likely suffers from some sort of mental illness.
Wow, I'm very concerned for Benny. Being able to mimic Myron Medcalf's writing so closely implies an oncoming case of dementia.