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Sep. 21st, 2012 02:31 pm( Gaeilge )
( Deutsch )
So, I was reading some article which I'm not going to bother to link to because this isn't about that, and it brought up the whole Republican advisor's comment about "And while you're studying that reality -- judiciously, as you will -- we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors ... and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do."
Uh-huh.
The problem with this isn't even that part of the quote, which actually isn't a bad idea as a general idea. The problem is that this person has taken it so far to the extreme that "reality-based community," the really real world, doesn't exist. Which leads me to wonder, what the hell are you working with, are you acting on, to use your word Advisor Person, if not reality? You can act in your own vacuum all you want, it's not going to change anything in this reality based community called Earth. Maybe you'll manage to rig an election on Barsoom. Do they have elections on Barsoom?
I'm constantly amazed at what the Republican party candidates come up with that show an astounding lack of political acumen. Mitt Romney is just amazingly bad at politics. At some point it becomes less a gaff and more sheer ineptitude; I can understand why he'd say derisive and vitriolic things at a private event where he has no expectation that his comments will hit the public eye. But assuming (and I'm quoting this from memory) he actually did say "I don't care about [the 47%]", it's a simple fix! All he had to say was that he didn't care about getting their vote, and while that might be derided as snobbish and stupid, it's at least a more tolerable response sentimentally than standing by "I don't care" full stop. My god, man. And this whole thing of we're not going to let fact-checkers stand in the way of our party line, and don't even get me started on the existence of fact-checkers at all. When every word out of Paul Ryan's mouth is a lie or is being thought of as a lie, when he's getting booed off the stage, it's hard not to stand there and wonder how these people ever became the party candidates in the first place.
You're acting, all right. You, you Republicans, all you frothing die-hard idealogues who haven't let the truth get in the way of your cozy fictions, you're acting like a pack of rabid dogs. When I was in high school studying philosophy I learned about the dialectic, thesis-antithesis-synthesis. Action, reaction, new action. Creating other realities, as this person so blithely put it, also requires interacting with the reality that already exists. You have to have the pre-existing thesis to come up with the antithesis for the process of synthesis to occur. Goddammit, people. I swear, it didn't used to be this way. I'm pretty goddamn sure. I have no idea when the Republican party got taken over by demagogues and ossified pedants, and it's not like my own party has had a history of sunshine and roses, but damn.
I think it was Paul Ryan getting booed off the stage today that did it. (Supposedly, I didn't see the video myself so I can't be sure.) I mean, I grew up with a very thorough idea of politics. People stood up, they made arguments, they made speeches and promises, a lot of the time they lied. But they had to at least be civil, pretend as though they knew what they were doing, pretend as though they had a plan and a basic sense of decency and were approachable while remaining above everything and. The shenanigans weren't so obvious. I'm pretty sure.
What the hell do they teach children in school these days?
Obligatory house stuff: Got contacted by the draw specialist today, who promptly turned into a robot when I had only one question to ask her. The process promises to be somewhat annoying but not bad. Permits go in on Monday since the offices are closed today, and then we'll get started! WOOT.
( Deutsch )
So, I was reading some article which I'm not going to bother to link to because this isn't about that, and it brought up the whole Republican advisor's comment about "And while you're studying that reality -- judiciously, as you will -- we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors ... and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do."
Uh-huh.
The problem with this isn't even that part of the quote, which actually isn't a bad idea as a general idea. The problem is that this person has taken it so far to the extreme that "reality-based community," the really real world, doesn't exist. Which leads me to wonder, what the hell are you working with, are you acting on, to use your word Advisor Person, if not reality? You can act in your own vacuum all you want, it's not going to change anything in this reality based community called Earth. Maybe you'll manage to rig an election on Barsoom. Do they have elections on Barsoom?
I'm constantly amazed at what the Republican party candidates come up with that show an astounding lack of political acumen. Mitt Romney is just amazingly bad at politics. At some point it becomes less a gaff and more sheer ineptitude; I can understand why he'd say derisive and vitriolic things at a private event where he has no expectation that his comments will hit the public eye. But assuming (and I'm quoting this from memory) he actually did say "I don't care about [the 47%]", it's a simple fix! All he had to say was that he didn't care about getting their vote, and while that might be derided as snobbish and stupid, it's at least a more tolerable response sentimentally than standing by "I don't care" full stop. My god, man. And this whole thing of we're not going to let fact-checkers stand in the way of our party line, and don't even get me started on the existence of fact-checkers at all. When every word out of Paul Ryan's mouth is a lie or is being thought of as a lie, when he's getting booed off the stage, it's hard not to stand there and wonder how these people ever became the party candidates in the first place.
You're acting, all right. You, you Republicans, all you frothing die-hard idealogues who haven't let the truth get in the way of your cozy fictions, you're acting like a pack of rabid dogs. When I was in high school studying philosophy I learned about the dialectic, thesis-antithesis-synthesis. Action, reaction, new action. Creating other realities, as this person so blithely put it, also requires interacting with the reality that already exists. You have to have the pre-existing thesis to come up with the antithesis for the process of synthesis to occur. Goddammit, people. I swear, it didn't used to be this way. I'm pretty goddamn sure. I have no idea when the Republican party got taken over by demagogues and ossified pedants, and it's not like my own party has had a history of sunshine and roses, but damn.
I think it was Paul Ryan getting booed off the stage today that did it. (Supposedly, I didn't see the video myself so I can't be sure.) I mean, I grew up with a very thorough idea of politics. People stood up, they made arguments, they made speeches and promises, a lot of the time they lied. But they had to at least be civil, pretend as though they knew what they were doing, pretend as though they had a plan and a basic sense of decency and were approachable while remaining above everything and. The shenanigans weren't so obvious. I'm pretty sure.
What the hell do they teach children in school these days?
Obligatory house stuff: Got contacted by the draw specialist today, who promptly turned into a robot when I had only one question to ask her. The process promises to be somewhat annoying but not bad. Permits go in on Monday since the offices are closed today, and then we'll get started! WOOT.