Jackpine Radical
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Thu Jan-13-11 08:51 AM
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Here is my latest LTTE effort, submitted to my local rag yesterday: |
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A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little reality-based minds.
Give up consistency, give up rationality, give up the shackles of logic, and all things become possible to you.
You can balance the Federal budget by cutting taxes on the rich and create jobs by busting unions.
You can deny the poor the basic necessities of life, secure in your knowledge that you are doing the work of the Lord.
You can run an oil-based economy forever because oil is a renewable resource and there are no harmful consequences to burning it.
You can call your opponents “enemies” and “traitors” and advocate their assassination and rest assured that you have no responsibility when someone acts on your word.
You can take from others whatever it pleases you to take, and do to them whatever it pleases you to do, knowing that you are merely helping the Lord to carry out His will on those who deserve no better.
You can subject your enemies to pain, torture and death, knowing full well that you have the Lord’s blessing because they are also His enemies.
And finally, if you have any mild twinges of fear for your soul, at the end of your days you can utter certain magical phrases and all will be forgiven--if, indeed, there is actually anything to be forgiven in one who has lived such an exemplary life as yours has been.
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getting old in mke
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Thu Jan-13-11 09:23 AM
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the readers you aimed the letter at will probably (mis)read it and go "Woo hoo! We won! Jackpine Radical gets it now!"
*sigh*
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Jackpine Radical
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Thu Jan-13-11 12:09 PM
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2. Actually, I don't expect to convert any of the hard-core wingnuts. |
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The real function of something like this is to put little idea-bugs into the minds of those who haven't thought about these issues very much.
By and large, you can't easily convert people by cold rationality, and satire makes them "fort up" behind their psychological defense mechanisms. However, I believe things like my letter can have an influence on those who have made no major ideological commitment, while simultaneously rallying and providing emotional support for those who are already on the "right" (by which I mean Left) side of the issues.
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getting old in mke
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Thu Jan-13-11 12:48 PM
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Had a pastor once upon a time that talked about "planting seeds of grace" and that we'd never know how or if they blossom. Here you're planting seeds of rationality and watering them with a soupçon of satire.
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Cerridwen
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Thu Jan-13-11 01:07 PM
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RedCloud
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Thu Jan-13-11 01:33 PM
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5. Bumped in the name of public decency |
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