Has anyone out there ever heard of free speech? Supposedly, in America, one is free to say what he or she thinks. Especially with regard to politics, there is supposed to be the free exchange of ideas. When I was in school, the concept was called "civil discourse". Americans would tell each other their views, and those views would be accorded a fair hearing. Oh, sure, there were times when some points of view were shouted down; this was particularly true of extremist thoughts. One could not advocate violence in certain forms. Extremely unpopular views were sometimes shunned as well. Nevertheless, for the most part, the battle of ideas (and political views) was fought in the arena of public opinion, not personal attack. If one disagreed with someone else, it did not make that person a villain, just someone with an opposing viewpoint.
Well all that has changed today. We now have an entire political group that has raised personal attack to levels essentially never seen previously in America. The latest example came this week when the new CEO of Mozilla was forced to resign within a few hours of being named to the post because he had (gasp!) contributed to an anti-gay marriage ballot initiative five or six years ago in California. Imagine! This man had the temerity to actually make a contribution to a political group that was not in favor with the far left. He had to be hounded from his job (which had nothing to do with gay marriage or even politics). No one who disagrees with the liberals could possibly be allowed to survive (at least in their view). Remember, also, though that the ballot initiative in question actually won the vote in California. The CEO target was in the majority. Indeed, in 2008, the year of the ballot initiative, the CEO was actually agreeing with the then position of Barack Obama. No matter, he now must be crushed.
This is not an isolated instance of liberal intolerance. Another good one comes from the global warming movement. I read earlier today a column is something called The Week which told liberals how "to talk to climate denial trolls -- if they must". The point of the article was not what arguments to raise. No, the issue was how many ways one could insult those who do not buy into the global warming theory that is one of the central tenets of liberal intolerance. I actually found the article funny. the author of the column, someone named Ryan Cooper, talked at length about severe weather as proof of global warming. This, of course, is his shtick in a period when hurricanes, tornadoes and other severe weather is at a multi-decade minimum, but those are just facts. What was much funnier was Cooper's explanation of why global warming is caused by human activity. Basically, according to Cooper, it does because it does. That's right, he had nothing to offer on the point. After literally decades of discussion, this intolerant liberal does not understand (or chooses to misunderstand) that the biggest missing element in all global warming theory is any data to support the relationship between human activity and warming. There have been hundreds or thousands of periods of warming during the history of the Earth. There has only been one period, however, when human activities were resulting in increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Someone has to come forward with some sort of evidence to connect the two so as to show it is not just a coincidence. Indeed, the most recent data shows that increasing carbon dioxide has not caused warming. And what does the liberal intolerant Cooper do? Why he takes the typically intolerant view: he ignores the problem and makes personal attacks on those who point out reality.
Think also of the recent attacks on Paul Ryan for pointing out the failure of liberal policies to stop the increase of poverty in America. When Ryan pointed out that there is a social basis for poverty which includes the breakdown of the family (through single parents) and the lack of a work ethic, the liberal intolerance machine moved into high gear. Ryan is a racist. Ryan must be a racist; afterall, he disagrees with liberal race and social philosophy. Liberals cannot discuss and debate which policies would actually help reduce poverty. Instead, they have to call anyone who would question the liberal viewpoint "racist". Just think about how many people were called racist because they disagreed with president Obama. The intolerant liberals cannot imagine that anyone else might have a better idea or (heaven forbid!) the liberals might be wrong. No, anyone who disagrees with their great leader Obama must be a racist.
The intolerance of liberals has got to end. Oh, I don't expect that the core group on the left is suddenly going to change tactics; it is too ingrained for that to happen now. No, what has to happen is for the American people to recognize that the use of these methods to try to silence opponents is extremely dangerous. It is only a short step from trying to shout down opponents to trying to use government to force them to keep quiet. Wait!! That already has happened. Remember the IRS that shut down hundreds of conservative groups through intimidation tactics. Remember the investigations done by the Justice Department of reporters to try to get them to stay in line. All of this has to be rejected by the American people. We need to oust the liberal intolerants from all positions of power. We need to teach them again the value of and the need for civil discourse. We can all engage on the battlefield of ideas. No one, however, should be intimidated into silence on that battlefield. It is one of the things that made our country great. We cannot lose it now.
Well all that has changed today. We now have an entire political group that has raised personal attack to levels essentially never seen previously in America. The latest example came this week when the new CEO of Mozilla was forced to resign within a few hours of being named to the post because he had (gasp!) contributed to an anti-gay marriage ballot initiative five or six years ago in California. Imagine! This man had the temerity to actually make a contribution to a political group that was not in favor with the far left. He had to be hounded from his job (which had nothing to do with gay marriage or even politics). No one who disagrees with the liberals could possibly be allowed to survive (at least in their view). Remember, also, though that the ballot initiative in question actually won the vote in California. The CEO target was in the majority. Indeed, in 2008, the year of the ballot initiative, the CEO was actually agreeing with the then position of Barack Obama. No matter, he now must be crushed.
This is not an isolated instance of liberal intolerance. Another good one comes from the global warming movement. I read earlier today a column is something called The Week which told liberals how "to talk to climate denial trolls -- if they must". The point of the article was not what arguments to raise. No, the issue was how many ways one could insult those who do not buy into the global warming theory that is one of the central tenets of liberal intolerance. I actually found the article funny. the author of the column, someone named Ryan Cooper, talked at length about severe weather as proof of global warming. This, of course, is his shtick in a period when hurricanes, tornadoes and other severe weather is at a multi-decade minimum, but those are just facts. What was much funnier was Cooper's explanation of why global warming is caused by human activity. Basically, according to Cooper, it does because it does. That's right, he had nothing to offer on the point. After literally decades of discussion, this intolerant liberal does not understand (or chooses to misunderstand) that the biggest missing element in all global warming theory is any data to support the relationship between human activity and warming. There have been hundreds or thousands of periods of warming during the history of the Earth. There has only been one period, however, when human activities were resulting in increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Someone has to come forward with some sort of evidence to connect the two so as to show it is not just a coincidence. Indeed, the most recent data shows that increasing carbon dioxide has not caused warming. And what does the liberal intolerant Cooper do? Why he takes the typically intolerant view: he ignores the problem and makes personal attacks on those who point out reality.
Think also of the recent attacks on Paul Ryan for pointing out the failure of liberal policies to stop the increase of poverty in America. When Ryan pointed out that there is a social basis for poverty which includes the breakdown of the family (through single parents) and the lack of a work ethic, the liberal intolerance machine moved into high gear. Ryan is a racist. Ryan must be a racist; afterall, he disagrees with liberal race and social philosophy. Liberals cannot discuss and debate which policies would actually help reduce poverty. Instead, they have to call anyone who would question the liberal viewpoint "racist". Just think about how many people were called racist because they disagreed with president Obama. The intolerant liberals cannot imagine that anyone else might have a better idea or (heaven forbid!) the liberals might be wrong. No, anyone who disagrees with their great leader Obama must be a racist.
The intolerance of liberals has got to end. Oh, I don't expect that the core group on the left is suddenly going to change tactics; it is too ingrained for that to happen now. No, what has to happen is for the American people to recognize that the use of these methods to try to silence opponents is extremely dangerous. It is only a short step from trying to shout down opponents to trying to use government to force them to keep quiet. Wait!! That already has happened. Remember the IRS that shut down hundreds of conservative groups through intimidation tactics. Remember the investigations done by the Justice Department of reporters to try to get them to stay in line. All of this has to be rejected by the American people. We need to oust the liberal intolerants from all positions of power. We need to teach them again the value of and the need for civil discourse. We can all engage on the battlefield of ideas. No one, however, should be intimidated into silence on that battlefield. It is one of the things that made our country great. We cannot lose it now.
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