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November 22, 2005

Confused Americans for Truth - Cynicism as a Substitute for Research

by Ferdinand T Cat

My tirade against feelings provoked the following response from a correspondent named "Diane". The response is indicative of a problem we have when trying to communicate across the gulf between Left and Right, and it's an important one.

The only problem with this post is that, in fact, the only reason we attacked Iraq was that it felt good. I mean, there weren't any logical reasons why we needed to be there: no connection to al Quaeda (Osama's in Pakistan, after all), no WMDs, no way to get the oil as long as the locals could blow up the pipelines, etc. It just felt good to attack a country in revenge for 9/11.

Now that it doesn't feel good anymore, why stay? We were only doing it for the "mission accomplished" thrill, anyway. We no longer have any idea what mission we were trying to accomplish, so why not just pack up & go home?

Hidden in this comment is the reason most conservatives feel The Left hates America.

If you went up to Diane and asked her if she hates America, I think she'd accuse you of being crazy and paranoid. But when you examine her comment, you have to ask yourself what, exactly, informs her conclusion about why we went to war. There is no direct evidence that invading Iraq made Americans feel good: no polls are cited, and there are no quotes from public officials or commentators.

So how does she know? Because her conclusion involves a hidden premise: that Americans are selfish and stupid. That's why so many of you feel that liberals hate America: because you can't separate America the country from the stupid Americans who are always voting for the wrong guy and can't be trusted to handle a bottle of pain pills unless it bears a warning that it should only be taken with or without food.

It's a tricky distinction, but I think I'm on to something here. After all, I'm a cat, and I understand what it's like to look down on everybody else. But I also know what it's like to respect somebody completely different from yourself. Yes, Americans have made a lot of mistakes; however, they also invented low-moisture mozzarella cheese, which allows people all over the world to enjoy pizza without having to live near a herd of water buffalo. I never forget that, and it's why everything I write is always

Respectfully submitted,

Ferdinand T. Cat


# At Tue 9:15 PM | Permalink | Trackback URI | Comments (5) | More Confused Americans for Truth

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Tracked on November 23, 2005 11:32 AM

Comments

Diane has mastered 20/20 hindsight, I'll give her that. At the time, we had no way of knowing where OBL was, that Saddam was [the jury is still out on this -- I'm betting Bakaa] faking having WMDs, and that Iraqis would attack their own pipelines.

That being the case, why would an Iraq attack have felt good? Diane misses the best one -- because Saddam tried to kill Bush's daddy!


Posted by: The Owner's Manual at November 23, 2005 10:44 AM

It was a publicity stunt; America went to war to promote Michael Moore's film.

I mean why not? A conspiracy theory is just as good as another..


Posted by: Friend of USA at November 25, 2005 12:56 PM

While Diane doesn't do a great job of articulating it, I believe she is referring to Bush and like-minded folks rather than the US population as a whole. You're going out on the same limb she's on to say she thinks most Americans are "selfish and stupid." She may think the current administration is, but she's hardly alone at that. It certainly doesn't mean she hates America (did *you* hate America during the Clinton years?).

I disagree with her argument, but then I'm a liberal who is (or at least was) in favor of the war. Your unhelpful dichotomy of left vs. right does little to accurately describe the state of things in America. Few people, really thoughtful people on either side, believe that disagreeing on one or another point means you hate America. That's just foolishness.


Posted by: Pete Blackwell at November 27, 2005 9:24 PM

I am addressing the fact that conservatives look down on liberals because they think liberals look down on America. In fact-- as I point out-- liberals don't look down on America, they look down on conservatives, so conservatives are wrong. Given my position as an influential superior life form, I expect love and friendship to start breaking out all over the place now that I've cleared up this misunderstanding.

I am aware there are many other groups out there-- moderates, swing voters, and a half-dozen splinter groups. Swing voters, however, don't look down on anybody, and the others look down on everybody, so none of them are really germaine to this conversation.


Posted by: Ferdy [TypeKey Profile Page] at November 28, 2005 12:16 AM

I'm all for the love and friendship. Meow.


Posted by: Pete Blackwell at November 29, 2005 8:10 AM

HTML is not allowed in comments; however, if you put in a raw URL (http://www.somewhere.com/page.html) it will automatically be converted to a link.. Also, it is likely your comment will not appear unless you refresh the page manually after posting it.

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