"WHEN FASCISM COMES TO AMERICA IT WILL BE WRAPPED IN THE FLAG
AND CARRYING A CROSS." -SINCLAIR LEWIS

Friday, August 14, 2009

Something Someone Else Said

"As the war over health-care reform rages on and Beltway commentators tut-tut over the decline of respectable political discourse, I invite observers everywhere to step back from their passions and policy preferences for a moment and bask in the glorious absurdities of the American political system: Watching the president of the United States make the rounds to deny that Congress is planning "death panels" while protesters compare him to the twentieth century's greatest monster is in some ways depressing. Looked at another way, though, it resembles nothing so much as good-old-fashioned entertainment. No screenwriter could possibly gin up a scenario this delightfully loony, and if one did, no one would believe it." -Peter Suderman, Reason.com

If the success or failure of President Obama to achieve his goal of substantive health care reform were not literally measured in human lives I might find these absurdities somewhat more entertaining. As it is, I am indeed finding the entire affair more depressing than anything else. Is there such a thing as "chronic cynicism"? Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit drinking...

(via)

5 comments:

Green Eagle said...

Boy, do I agree with you. I usually find a lot of solace in ridicule on my blog, but I just haven't been able to find much to laugh about the last few days.

The morphing of the right wing from greedy bastards into a vicious band of hatemongers without the slightest concern for common human decency isn't funny. If you're really looking, it's deeply disturbing. We can only hope that this doesn't end up where it appears to be heading.

JBW said...

I still have hope Green Eagle but I'd be lying if I said that it hasn't been waining lately.

magpie said...

There is nothing funny about this.
It's a pretty simple question:
"Do you want to die like an unwanted dog in the pound for not having the money to pay for your essential medical treatment?"
What the hell kind of fool says "yes"?

I have a friend who is on the opposite side of the local political spectrum to me, yet we both shook heads incredulously - as one - at the spectacle of Americans protesting against their direct vital interest, and in favor of those interests that have been ripping them off for years, and wish to go on doing so.
Amazing.

JBW said...

I read "What's the Matter with Kansas?" from cover to cover quietmagpie and I still can't figure out why these people act this way.

magpie said...

I've heard of this book under the "What's the Matter with America?".
Looks interesting.