Quote:
Originally Posted by Calgaryborn
It would certainly be inappropriate to use shooting metaphors for the next while. Although after this tragedy is more distant I really see no problem with them being used. I don't believe either side was trying to incite violence by their use nor has it to date.
The problem I see is that your political foes will start taking every thing you say the wrong way to make political noise. It will be like when Barack was first elected and any criticism of him was met with a charge of racism. Political correctness is counter productive in that it allows a person to ignore the merits of your argument and change the conversation.
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I suppose it should no longer shock me when you entirely miss the point. Sarah Palin did too. She (somehow) thinks that this issue is about
her, and the never-ending media conspiracy to paint her as a benighted fool blundering her way into the darkness while loudly proclaiming that she can see the light.
Obama realizes (as the rest of us should) that it's about a nine-year old girl, a long-standing political judge, a retiree who sacrificed his life to save that of his wife, etc. etc.
The point isn't "let's make certain phrases taboo." The point is "let's have a debate that is worthy of those people." One of the things that means is "let's not pretend that people who disagree with us should be shot." But it, of course, means so much more than that. It also means "let's not treat our opponents as though their love of country were at issue along with their ideology." And also--and this is where the Tea Party and Sarah Palin should perk their ears up and listen, "let's not polarize the debate for our own political gain; instead, let's have a debate where in addition to communicating, we also
listen to each other." That is, less shouting, less finger-pointing, fewer "calls to arms" and more discourse, more conversation, more
intelligence.
More importantly, less demagoguery, more democracy. And that's a rule that Sarah Palin should indeed fear, because it signals the end of her role in politics. The same could be said for a list of politicians on both sides of the aisle, and it's my hope that in the coming weeks we hear from those people less and less.