How can people be so damn blind?

[LittleClarkie]

How did the most hateful people I've ever seen convince a bunch of people they're moral and righteous.

Watching the replay of the McAulife tribute, and Bill speak, I don't get it. Is it 9/11. Is that what drove everyone insane? I've heard that President Wilson was worse than Bush during WWI? Do we always get this way during a war. This is my first. I was too young to remember Vietnam properly.

I was just reading about Kerry in San Fransisco, on one of his thank you stops. I guess he's still working his way around. The blogger at DailyKos said that while Teresa was speaking, the 12 year old girl who started Kids for Kerry was sitting there crying (the event had brought 11/3 back for her) and that John was standing there obviously trying not to do the same. And there I go again.

Damn it! Is this what the Philadelphia Eagles feel like? Is this what it feels like to commit to something, think you have a chance of winning, then fall on your ass? Obviously they're not all walking around beating their tits and crying like me, but damn, is this what it feels like to get to the Big Show and lose.

Maybe this is why I believe in the fraud, that it was enough to erase an electoral landslide. That way, I don't have to face a land of evil, just a land of the cheated and disenfranchised. That's better somehow. Because you can miscount their votes, but damn it, they're still there! And they're now PISSED because they know what the Republicans did.

I hope Bill Clinton's right. We're not dead yet. Because if we can't win the next election, I don't want to see what this country looks like in 2012.

Sorry for the rant. I'm having a bad night.

[NVMojo]

1. I am with you. It all made no sense. I still believe Kerry won ...

they fucked with the machines and a few other things along the way. The media took part too.

[thecai]

5. DITTO!

They did it the first election, and they did it WORSE the second time.
Many were already insane BEFORE 9-11, BTW.
on edit: prior to 9-11, people were warned of gvt.s "allowing" a disaster, as a way to obtain power over the nation using "fear tactics". It's not uncommon, and not surprising.

[Crunchy Frog]

2. Hey there,

rant as much as you need to. That's part of what this place is for.

I'm just cynical enough of a person to not be particularly surprised that this country is so full of hate and arrogance, but for the less cynical it can be a really shocking realization.

Anyway, this is for you.:hug: We just have to keep fighting the good fight.

[jojo54]

7. Crunchy

Just have to say, GREAT MOVIE (all 3). Read the books back in the 70's and was very, very happy to have Jackson make them into a film. The damn politics of the Oscars though. They should have won all 3 years!

[The Traveler]

3. Rant on, but remember

that fraud or not, WAY too many Americans voted for Bush. And what that means is we have a whole lot of work in front of us. The problem, you see, is not that the people are sheep but that they are held in the bondage of ignorance. The cure is truth.

[jojo54]

4. Clarkie, I feel for ya

Yes, it is how the Eagles feel (big time south Jersey Eagles family). But you know what? They know they'll get another chance next year. That makes me feel more secure than '08 'cause most of the Dems around today will just bend over and take it from behind. I'm not dissing my team here, but I'd stake my money on the Eagles winning the Super Bowl before we get another Dem that actually gives a shit again.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

6. we sure as heck aren't dead!

LittleClarkie, you are more than entitled to your rant. Many of us are ranting. And you speak for all of us. Yes, I do believe that 9/11 changed the country in a very basic way. We were attacked, and that scared us right out of our minds. Wars make us afraid, and when we're afraid, we feel like giving up our rights in order to be secure. Of course, that is the wrong path! But there it is. I forget who said it, but someone said something like those who give up their rights to be secure lose both, or words to that effect. Maybe someone can supply the correct quote.
And yes, we were cheated. The votes were rigged. There was electoral fraud. Reforms are an absolute must. Otherwise, we won't win. And the whole country will lose. I want the vote for the whole country to be as fraud-free as possible. I want the WILL OF THE PEOPLE to be heard, no matter who wins. Of course, I want the Dems to win, but if the Repubs win, I want it to be real and true.
OK, enough ranting from me, also.
I hope you feel better!

[jojo54]

9. Not sure if this is the quote you're looking for..

but Ben Franklin said

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty not safety."

[CaliforniaPeggy]

10. That looks like the correct quote to me!

Thanks for posting it...

[jojo54]

12. Welcome

[imenja]

8. Historically, Americans have been more supportive of war

and more hateful toward their enemies than during this war. If you consider anti-German sentiment during World War I or Anti-Japanese sentiment during World War II, the public is far less war mongering today. Wartime enemies are always vilified, and Americans are not unique in this. It is almost commonplace for a people at war to consider their enemies as less than human. Rwanda is the worst example in recent history. Such demonization plays an important role in promoting war, because it enables otherwise peaceful people to commit horrendous acts of violence. The torture at Abu Ghraib and Gitmo could could not take place without an ideology that dehumanizes Muslims.

One key distinction between Wilson and Bush is that the former joined a war begun by European alliances. Bush began a war in opposition to the world's preeminent nations. World War II was necessary, but FDR had a great deal of trouble convincing congress and the public that the US should join the war. Pearl Harbor changed that.

Vietnam was different because there was never a formal declaration of war. The Gulf of Tonkin resolution was the closest, in that in authorized LBJ to dispatch more troops. American involvement was incremental and opposition at home grew gradually.

[thecai]

11. It's Ok To Get Frustrated

When SO MANY American's wool blinders are so tight. "There is none so blind as he who will not see".

[pamela]

13. Lowest common denominator.

The neocons looked around and saw several traits that most members (and potential members) of their base had in common. They found hatefulness, bigotry, greed and fear. The next step was pure genius. For years these hateful, greedy, bigots had been told that these traits were immoral but along came the neocons telling them that these traits were actually very moral. That's a pretty irresistable sales pitch. When someone is telling you that the very worst thing about yourself is actually a good thing, you're going to happily lap up all the other crap they are selling, too.

I'd like to believe there was election fraud but, even if there was, the sad truth is that there are a lot of people out there that support Bush. In fact, they worship him. They worship him because he gives them permission to feel good about those aspects of themselves for which they should be most ashamed.

[mattclearing]

14. They worship him because he gives them permission to feel good about those

aspects of themselves for which they should be most ashamed.

Brilliant thought. Thanks for that.

[thecai]

15. "Woe Unto Those"

"... that call evil good, and good evil..."