Everything new is “old” again

If you stand by that remark, then you have no judgment at all. If you want to understand, rather than pronounce, I’d be more than pleased to stop this stupid spitting at each other.

trailboss on September 14, 2008 at 11:53 PM

come now MB4 tell us all about your military experience….Vietnam wasn’t it?

FiveWays on September 14, 2008 at 11:55 PM

WELL….WHAT DO YOU KNOW!

The parallels between Senator James Inhofe’s [where he asked Gore to take a pledge to use no more energy than most Americans do] criticism of Gore and the “chicken hawk” argument made by opponents of the Iraq war are striking. Consider the hypothetical case of an Iraq war supporter who we’ll call “Jonah.” Jonah posts lots of things on the Internet in which he argues that the Iraq war is the central front in the war on terror, and that the war on terror is a fight for America’s survival.

When critics point out that our military has had to lower admission standards in order to meet recruiting quotas, and that Jonah himself is a healthy man of military age, Jonah replies that he’s contributing to the global war on terror in his own fashion, by posting pro-war arguments on the Internet, attaching a yellow ribbon magnet to his car, and so forth.

This response is just as lame as Gore’s, and in exactly the same way. If you claim we’re facing a huge crisis that requires great personal sacrifice on everyone’s part, but refuse to make any real sacrifice yourself, then your attempts to obscure the latter fact through empty symbolic gestures deserve to be mocked.

It’s obvious what Al and Jonah should each do, given their respective beliefs: Al should radically simplify his lifestyle, and Jonah should join the military.

Yet each of them could also do something that would, in its own way, be almost as impressive: simply confess his hypocrisy and weakness, and implore others to behave differently.

Imagine if Gore were to say, “Yes, I live in a deeply self-indulgent, utterly wasteful fashion. People like me are a very big part of the problem. I’d like to change, but I’m weak. For the sake of our planet, you need to be a stronger person than I’ve been.”

Imagine if Jonah were to say, “Yes, I’m a hypocritical coward, who values his own skin more than America’s survival. And our nation won’t survive if it’s made up of people like me. For everyone’s sake, you need to be more courageous than I’ve been.”

Now those would be inconvenient truths.
- Paul Campos
Tuesday, March 27, 2007 2:36 PM

MB4 on August 8, 2008 at 10:46 AM

LET’S COMPARE:

Thought for the day. How many here fit this one?

Paul Campos: The parallels between Senator James Inhofe’s [where he asked Gore to take a pledge to use no more energy than most Americans do] criticism of Gore and the “chicken hawk” argument made by opponents of the Iraq war are striking. Consider the hypothetical case of an Iraq war supporter who we’ll call “Jonah.” Jonah posts lots of things on the Internet in which he argues that the Iraq war is the central front in the war on terror, and that the war on terror is a fight for America’s survival.

When critics point out that our military has had to lower admission standards in order to meet recruiting quotas, and that Jonah himself is a healthy man of military age, Jonah replies that he’s contributing to the global war on terror in his own fashion, by posting pro-war arguments on the Internet, attaching a yellow ribbon magnet to his car, and so forth.

This response is just as lame as Gore’s, and in exactly the same way. If you claim we’re facing a huge crisis that requires great personal sacrifice on everyone’s part, but refuse to make any real sacrifice yourself, then your attempts to obscure the latter fact through empty symbolic gestures deserve to be mocked.

It’s obvious what Al and Jonah should each do, given their respective beliefs: Al should radically simplify his lifestyle, and Jonah should join the military.

Yet each of them could also do something that would, in its own way, be almost as impressive: simply confess his hypocrisy and weakness, and implore others to behave differently.

Imagine if Gore were to say, “Yes, I live in a deeply self-indulgent, utterly wasteful fashion. People like me are a very big part of the problem. I’d like to change, but I’m weak. For the sake of our planet, you need to be a stronger person than I’ve been.”

Imagine if Jonah were to say, “Yes, I’m a hypocritical coward, who values his own skin more than America’s survival. And our nation won’t survive if it’s made up of people like me. For everyone’s sake, you need to be more courageous than I’ve been.”

Now those would be inconvenient truths.

HalJordan on September 14, 2008 at 11:34 PM

FiveWays on September 15, 2008 at 12:01 AM

Hmmmm. That looks a bit suspicious, doesn’t it? Is he doing double duty, so to speak?

a capella on September 15, 2008 at 12:13 AM

More than double……trust me…..

FiveWays on September 15, 2008 at 12:15 AM

FiveWays on September 15, 2008 at 12:16 AM

Are you on the hunt again?

Cindy Munford on September 15, 2008 at 12:24 AM

never stopped…..

FiveWays on September 15, 2008 at 12:25 AM