Yes, I knew all along that my family was overwhelmingly liberal-Democrat, but I didn't think anything of it... Still don't, they are family after all and this is America; they can suffer from all the delusions they choose. I was a bit dismayed however at how parrot-ish they all sounded. For all my talk of wanting people to learn to think for themselves, I was shocked to discover my own family was in serious need of the very same lessons.
This is what comes from watching CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, etcetera, ad nauseum, without even attempting to question the assertions being pumped into ones head. People lie. People distort. It's who we are: looking out for ourselves and our agendas by any means necessary.
Short list of distortions I listened to yesterday:
...Bush is spying on average Americans
...Fox News is the worst most slanted news source
...Hillary Clinton will be America's salvation in '08
...Under Bill Clinton, American's made more money
I chose to be civil and keep the harmony of Christmas unsullied by rhetoric and sophistry. But I was amazed by it all. This is what comes from living apart from the family these last 17 years. I've had the luxury of learning what was important to me, without familial influence.
As for myself...
Capital Punishment, while flawed, should not be done away with-- or commuted, while at the same time Abortion is steadfastly championed. Where's the logic of sparing the guilty while condemning the Innocent?
Bush has all the authority he needs through the Constitution and US Code to spy on folks for the purpose of gathering foreign intelligence to protect America and its citizens.
Hillary Clinton can't be any more honest about what she stands for than Bill can keep it in his pants.
Lot's of people made money during Clinton's era... Many more lost everything they owned. Clinton's administration was not a shining beacon of hope for the huddled and unwashed masses of America, it was as corrupt as they come.
The Mainstream Media does not care about telling the American people the truth. They care about their own agenda, their own social reconstruction program, and rewriting history. And they get away with it because the average American doesn't know the truth about most anything. Government schools churn out cultural illiterates by the tens of hundreds of thousands. If the populace is ignorant of truth, the Media can relate whatever "truth" they desire with impunity. Fox News is hated because they are fair and balanced. They don't defend the President on every issue. This is News I'm speaking of, not punditry. All networks have opinion makers, but not all networks report the News of the day fairly.
And while I won't speak ill of my family, no one else, as far as I'm concerned is off the hook. Idiocy does not become you, and if no one else is willing to tell you you're strutting around naked, it then falls to me to save you from embarrassment.
If they call you stupid or silly, the response would be, "Oh, so you ADMIT the concept of spying on average Americans is stupid." Then you can go on to ask where the government, in the middle of a war, would get the time and resources to spy on average Americans and WHY they would want to do so. What have THEY done in the last 24 hours that would prevent an NSA agent from slipping into a coma. The average American's life isn't that exciting. Be sure to laugh at their back as they walk away. If their ears turn red, you have succeeded.
As Rush does, fight absurdity with absurdity. You won't change any minds, but at least they'll let you sit in a corner and drink in peace.
Why they see fit to continue in the face of complete silence from me is continually puzzling. Starting into a rant of my own I've found, is usually futile. I've taken to taking mental notes and making such affairs into blog posts like this one. Such people are searching for emotional affirmation, not logical argument.