James Kerian: Fifteen Things You Hear In Politics (From The Same People)
In his book The Everlasting Man
In a couple of decades of discussing politics I have come across a few other examples of this type of unreason. Following are fifteen things that you can hear when discussing politics, often from the same people.
1. The Republican Party has been taken over by a group of right wing extremists who are completely out of step with what the party used to be and with the country as a whole.
2. There is no difference between the Republican and the Democrat party.
3. The country has long been moving to the left and there’s nothing anyone can do to stop it.
4. It is a sign of America’s greed, stupidity and hubris that we invaded Iraq and are considering attacking Syria.
5. It is a sign of America’s self-centeredness and short-sighted thinking that we didn’t stop the genocide in Rwanda or Darfur.
6. Wall street bankers don’t produce anything, they’re just vultures that feed off the labor of others.
7. We had to bail out the banks because if they went under our entire economy would have collapsed.
8. I want the government out of my bedroom.
9. My employer should be required by law to buy me insurance coverage for sterilization.
10. We have to give tax credits for solar panels, retirement plans and education savings because this will encourage people to act responsibly.
11. No one produces less or works less hard because of the income tax.
12. We need to harness the power of the free market.
13. The federal government is completely owned by large corporations and unaccountable to the average American.
14. The federal government must be given the power to curb the influence of corporations.
15. This is all so obvious that whoever disagrees with me either has ulterior motives or is just plain dumb.
