These succinct remarks by someone in the thick of it (I gather from your
mail, Ann) confirm my feeling, as an outsider dependent on "news", of
where/what Bush & his supporters are at. I think despair is eating at
the hearts of many to see what the world "is coming to" (in the words of
our grannies). As you suggest, cogent criticism may not get us anywhere
with Bushites, Monsanto etc. A striking metaphorical transition in the
last sentence, by the way.
mj
Ann White wrote:
> Dominic wrote:
>
>>>
>>> I think it's dangerously stupid to focus on Bush in this way:
>>> it hardens the hearts of those who sympathise with his persona against
>>> any cogent criticism of his actions.
>>
>>
> I think the mistake in this reasoning is the assumption the Bush
> "sympathizers" might ever listen to a logical argument. Yes, that's a
> huge generalization but walk a day in my shoes and you might well
> understand where it's derived. Those who defame Bush on a personal level
> *may* believe their attacks will change the opinion of his supporters.
> My belief (I want to say: my despairing sense) is that Bush is
> sacrosanct *because* he is an icon. Neither logic or defamation is going
> to dislodge this position, and as long as he retains that position, he
> will continue to install his belief system. I am depairing!
>
>>>
>>> I'm prepared to bet
>>> that if you asked all the people who responded to that survey about
>>> belief in the divine authorship and literal truth of the Bible a few
>>> carefully-worded questions about a couple of other things, you'd find
>>> that their answers contradicted each other pretty sharply.
>>
>>
> Again, you are making the incorrect assumption that logic is a guiding
> principle here and it just ain't so! You could shove those
> inconsistencies right down the black hole of the surveyees, and it
> wouldn't make a damn bit of difference. That is the whole point!
>
>>> Affirming
>>> the divine origin, inerrancy and literal truth of the Bible is pretty
>>> much a matter of social politeness in some circles: a default position
>>> for those who aren't especially strongly-minded about such things).
>>>
> Well maybe. Where I live and work, it's not social nicety, and it's not
> a default response of the hapless. It is a given, and in many cases,
> agreed upon with full awareness of the consequences. (And I work in a
> college setting!)
>
> As far as I'm concerned Bush is mining a vein and he won't stop until
> he's sucked it dry or he is forcibly removed from the blubbering teat of
> ignorance.
>
> Ann
>
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