The ends now justify the means. For the sake of the common good, it is permissible to lie in the name of a higher truth. Slander and libel are necessary if it leads to a better world.
No, I have not become a liberal. I just borrowed page one from their life playbook. The next time one of them stands up and says that the politics of personal destruction come to an end, I will simply reply, “You are a liberal. You are the politics of personal destruction.”
To hell with comity. It doesn’t work. It’s pointless. Liberals despise conservatives with a ferocity that conservatives reserve for Al Queda.
I have disagreed with many liberals, but my column has never despised them. I want to defeat them at the ballot box. I do not want to destroy them personally. This is where we differ. For those who complain that indicting all liberals is unfair, my challenge is that they stay silent, and silence is acquiescence. Martin Luther King Jr. himself said that evil prevails “when good people do nothing.” The left in this country is divided between practioners of hatred, and quiet enablers. Several victims recently have been targeted simply for being conservative, and existing.
Bill O’Reilly was labeled a racist. Why? Because he is a white conservative, and he spoke about race. Many people in this country dislike Bill O’Reilly. He has been described as bombastic, pugnacious, obnoxious, overbearing, and other friendly adjectives. Every single one of those edscriptions in completely within the bounds of conversation. Labeling someone a racist is not. There is only one legitimate reason to label somebody a preacher of hatred, and that is if the description is truthful. There is no evidence that Bill O’Reilly has ever made racist remarks, and if he was a racist, he would not be on television. Bill O’Reilly was slandered. There is no “greater good” that justifies this.
Rush Limbaugh has also been targeted. He made a specific comment that stating that people who pretended to serve in the military, but were actually exaggerating or outright lying about their service, were “phony soldiers.” The left then stated that he claimed that all soldiers who were against the Iraq war were phony soldiers, and therefore unpatriotic.
This is an outright lie. Rush Limbaugh is in the public arena, and legitimate criticism of comments he makes is absolutely fair game. However, manipulating his words to completely change the meaning of what he said is disgusting, especially when those doing so know that their version is false. Mr. Limbaugh has over two decades of stating his respect for soldiers, and he does not question the patriotism of people just because they disagree with him. In fact, Majority Loser Harry Reid called Limbaugh unpatriotic.
http://michellemalkin.com/2007/10/03/crush-rush-democrat-cant-make-up-their-minds/
Another person that has been slandered by Harry Reid and Hillary Clinton is General David Petraeus. They called him a liar. Of course they did not use the actual word, preferring to fall back on phrases such as “misled,” “strains credibility,” and, “defies belief.” What it means, in plain English, is that they told him his pants were on fire. Why did Moveon.org refer to him as “General Betray Us?” Because he disagrees with their assessment of the war. What is the basis of his disagreement? Perhaps the fact that he has boot son the ground in Iraq, and that he is an intellectual titan and his critics are intellectual ants.
Yet, some say that Bill O’Reilly, Rush Limbaugh and General David Petraeus deserve this treatment. After all, O’Reilly and Limbaugh regularly skewer progressives on their show, and the General is leading a war they despise. Yet these men got off easy compared to one of the most brutal character assassinations in American history, that being the slander and libel directed at U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
Justice Thomas is an American success story. He has never had a radio show, or led an unpopular war. All he did was rise out of abject poverty to become a respected professional in the legal field. At the 11th hour, when the liberals failed to defeat this conservative nominee on merit, Anita Hill came forward with sexual harassment charges that to this day have never been proven. In fact, it was “the seriousness of the charges” that led to the delay. Apparently, the same standard was not given to Bill Clinton. Yes, Ted Kennedy got to sit on a panel and offer judgement on the fitness of Clarence Thomas to be a judge.
Some might ask why Judge Thomas is not hailed as an America hero given his incredible rise in society. The reason is because he is a conservative, and a black conservative at that. If his story got out, black Americans, while not automatically voting republican, would at least listen to what they had to say.
The Thomas hearings, in his own words, were a “disgrace,” and a “high tech lynching of uppity blacks.” How else can one describe the viciousness with which this man was attacked?
People could have attacked Justice Thomas on his qualifications. I was not convinced he was one of the finest legal minds when he was nominated. I did not know enough about him. Given that he almost never asks questions, I found it tough to learn more about him. However, a recent interview he had showed an incredibly bright, thoughtful…and kind…human being. I have never heard a story of Justice Thomas being rude to anybody.
As I said Earlier, Limbaugh and O’Reilly can be inviting targets. Yet Justice Thomas seems to be an overwhelmingly gracious individual. Does fearing his willingness to overturn Roe vs Wade justify lying about him and trying to destroy his honor?
Where does it end?
I supported the investigations of the Clintons, but was horrified at stories declaring Chelsea a product of rape, or that Hillary was a lesbian. I was one of the first people to stand up and say that the evidence I saw showed that Hillary and Bill loved each other, and that they raised a daughter who has blossomed into a successful young woman that any parent would be proud to call their own.
I disagree with almost every policy that Hillary and Bill stood for, but I want them to lead happy lives, nowhere near 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Heck, I would invite Bill over to watch the NFL on Sundays as long as he focused on the games (the same rules for all guests who think free speech exists in my home when watching football).
One of the lingering questions that needs to be answered is…who cares? Why does this matter?
There are four reasons. The first reason is because the pendulum swings, and neither side has power forever. Both sides can argue over who started it, and neither side is willing to unilaterally stop it for fear of being seen as weak. Yet it has to stop. If Hillary were to win in 2008, how can she expect to be treated with grace when her path to power is scorched Earth? How can liberals talk about building bridges when they are burning them every chance they get?
The second reason is because it is just plain wrong to lie. The ends do not justify the means. Ethicists do not even support the “therapeutic lie,” concept, rejecting it en masse. MacBeth got to be King, but at what price? Without the moral authority to lead, everybody suffers. Those who tore down Clinton should not have been shocked at what was done to George W. Bush. Those who have torn down George W. Bush should not be shocked at what happens to his successor. Some may say, “well in our case it was justified, look at his policies.” These men are not Hitler, Stalin or Pol Pot. Smears and lies are not ok, because then when the lies are uncovered, the good ideas the liars may have been proposing leads to their whole ideas being invalidated. The backfire causes more harm to the one firing the slings and arrows. People who could possibly work together for a common good refuse to do so because the differences are too deep.
The third reason is because unlike people like Limbaugh and O’Reilly, most Americans do not have a platform to repudiate baseless accusations and venom. Accusations stick. They scar. They wound. They destroy. People have committed suicide over despair. Does a person have to take their own life before others realize that they inflicted part of the pain?
The fourth and last reason is the life and death struggle civilization currently faces. Between Al Queda, Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, Damascus, and other evils in this world, our elected leaders should be squarely focused on them. The republican candidates are. The democratic candidates are not. They brag about “standing up to Bill O’Reilly,” “fighting back against Ann Coulter,” “taking on Rush Limbaugh,” and other activities that contribute nothing positive to society.
Ann Coulter did not fly a plane into the towers. Bill O’Reilly did not murder 3000 New Yorkers. Rush Limbaugh does not fund homicide bombers. Clarence Thomas is not harboring plutonium to build nuclear bombs.
Rush Limbaugh has 20 million listeners. Even if every one of them agreed with him (totally not the case), that means 280 million people are not listening to him. Bill O’Reilly peaked at 7 million people. While Clarence Thomas makes important decisions, he interacts with 8 0ther people. Not 8 million…8!
Rather than hold debates that affect 10-12% of the electorate, and then blaming republicans for being racist, insensitive bigots, the left should start talking to everybody! Take the passion reserved for talk show hosts with no real, actual power, and direct it at people who wish to murder all Americans, liberal and conservative.
The left must argue policy, and they must do so honestly. Lying about words, deeds, data, and the like only makes it tougher for the accuser to be given the benefit of the doubt when it is their turn at bat.
The left needs to stop the search and destroy missions. America is worth saving, and the enemy of Americans is not their fellow Americans. We can either sit around the dinner table and have reasonable discussions, or we can break the table in half, and have our grandchildren ask us why we failed to act in time to protect their way of life.
If we fail…God help us all. We must succeed. Ideological Bigotry must stop.
eric
[…] freshnesschronic wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptYet these men got off easy compared to one of the most brutal character assassinations in American history, that being the slander and libel directed at US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Justice Thomas is an American success … […]
I can’t believe anyone would put this on “liberals” or the “left” – or conservatives or the right – or the Dems or the GOP! Character assassination knows no partisan bounds. Sometimes it’s accurate, sometimes not so much, sometimes not at all. Usually, it’s somehwre in the middle. But remember this – instant karma’s gonna get you: if you engage in character assassination, there’s a good chance that your character has a big ol’ target on it. ;)
JMJ
“An unjust man is an abomination to the righteous, and he who is upright in the way is an abomination to the wicked.” Proverbs 29:27
Unfortunately ideology is a small part of the game being played. I honestly believe that people in general cannot grasp the realities and are, as someone once said, “useful idiots.” Those who lead the argument care not for the truth, to them the end justifies the means. It is the ole “lesser of two evils” senario. Do I lie, slander and destroy the few to save the many? Obviously the answer is yes. The Hillarys and Georges of the world are simple pawns in the big lie. It is up to the likes of the pummeled to pummel back. To sit in awe of the offensive and not return fire is the fastest way to destruction. Bill O is a perfect example. He is slandered and libeled and then invites two of the most notorious slanderers on to defend him….What the hell is that?
I believe the majority of Americans are fair minded people who unfortunately live full lives and do not make the time to stay informed. They are led to their beliefs by what they see and hear……right now that is the fringe progressive mantra and the pawns in the democratic party who need them.
Eric,
Even MSDNC are picking up on this.
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/mark-finkelstein/2007/10/03/did-media-matters-just-call-hillary-liar
Eric,
Hot Air is covering this and you can see some video with General Wesley Clark.
http://hotair.com/archives/2007/10/03/video-crazed-by-rush-wes-clark-calls-for-political-discourse-to-be-rated/
Ha ! this is funny.
I went looking to see what the ratio of conservative rags is compared to liberal (in this case “progressive”)
Naturally my first choice was to see what Media Matters take was on this count.
They put out this study that says more columnists are printed than liberals in 38 states. They fail to mention that the remaining 12 states are the most populated ones in our country.
S.F rags, L.A. rags and N.Y. times reacjh more people than the other 38 combined (or close to it )
Even in this department we have deceptive projections and statements going on.
Check it out.
http://mediamatters.org/reports/oped/
“”In 38 states, the conservative voice is greater than the progressive voice — in other words, conservative columns reach more readers in total than progressive columns. In only 12 states is the progressive voice greater than the conservative voice. “”
My god, it’s almost common knowledge that liberals dominate all media with the exception of talk radio, and still these jerks will try to persist in warping that knowledge also.
And they also fail to mentioned all other articles except for op eds
This sentence in my last comment should read this way, sorry.
They put out this study that says more “”conservative”” columnists are printed than liberals in 38 states.
“Bill O is a perfect example. He is slandered and libeled and then invites two of the most notorious slanderers on to defend him….What the hell is that?”
Dave ! I like Bill, but I have to agree with you on this. I got crosseyed when I saw that.
Actually I agree with your whole post.
Dave,
Your absolutely right and I watched, the Daily Show and the Colbert Report, the night Bill had the Rev Jesse Jackson on..If I want satire, comedy defined news, that is what I watch.
Yes, Dave. Sadly, the too busy majority are victims of media headlines and news soundbites that by their nature are alarmist at best, and deliberately biased at worst. And therein is the destruction of America as it was intended…in the majority; in a peoples that have no idea what they have in their freedom, because they have never known anything else; in a peoples being brainwashed by the ‘politically correct’ that blurs any distinction between right and wrong, moral or immoral, reality or deception; in a peoples whose self-absorption resembles the water in which was put the frog….and upon which the heat was applied gradually. The frog sat there and died because he didn’t detect the danger.
Sadly, if America is destroyed, it will be from the inside out. If our country ever needed prayer, it is now!
You know, G….it’s amazing how the left excoriates conservatives all the time, all the time also preaching tolerance and compassion.
Was is even worse is the waste. This country – this superpower – were we to unify, appreciating, respecting and utilizing the differences in the right and left, could do more good for this entire world than we even are now doing.
Instead, for pure power’s sake, the sides demonize each other….so much so that nothing is done. So not only can we not be the great blessing we could be to the world, the American way of life is being slowly eroded from the inside out.
America….with HIV Aids.
Eric
Here is some video of Tucker taking on General Wesley Clark and Waldman from Media Matters.
http://tinyurl.com/2cubse
Trackbacked by The Thunder Run – Web Reconnaissance for 10/05/2007
A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day…so check back often.
Now we have to hear about Obamas pin for a week ?
Mr. Justice Thomas’ only crime was that he was a self-made Black man with extraordinary qualities who dared to think for himself and refused to become a lackey on the Democrat party plantation. Therefore, the Democrats set out to destroy him; however, it did not work.
The Democrat party was the party of my parents and grandparents. If they were alive today, I seriously doubt they would recogniz the current Democrat party, much less be members of it.