Bryan W. Alaspa 1The danger of words
April 18th 2010 15:05
I make my living with words. I spend a lot of time writing things in front of a computer screen. The world of the internet has been great for my career. It has given me an outlet and given me a voice and it has provided me with income and all kinds of truly wonderful things. There have been times when I have written things with the hopes of reaching just one person in the hopes of changing their mind or minds. I write to get my opinions across and I have very liberal opinions about things. That is just how I am built. You can call me a socialist, if you want, and I will nod, smile, and say "thank you." To me, it's not a bad word.
What I would never do, however, is suggest that there needs to be some kind of movement. I would never suggest that thousands of people gather and target a certain political party and, perhaps, be violent towards them. For crying out loud, I am anti-gun and anti-war and the thought of anyone ever taking anything I said or wrote so seriously that they would want to commit an act of violence makes me nauseous.
I am not here saying that there are conservatives who want to commit violence. I firmly believe that most people are trying to live their lives and not hurt anyone. I think that most of these "tea party" nut jobs are people who are confused and misinformed and that if they would just take the time to honestly, and calmly, talk to someone on the other side they might, at least, understand that other person. I am not saying minds and opinions would change, but at least people would understand each other and that has to be a step in the right direction.
I am, however, worried about the lunatic fringe out there. Let us not forget that there have been lunatics who have done a lot of damage and made other people who wanted to actively engage in civilized debate, look like idiots. There was that guy who recently walked into a church and shot a doctor in the head who was performing abortions. Then there was the guy who lived in the woods and put bombs at abortion clinics and, also, the Atlanta Olympics. There are people out there who are just teetering on the brink, hearing the voices in their head, and it doesn't take much to tip them over.
This is why I am worried about some of the voices that are currently speaking so loudly these days. The pundits are now in charge of "political debate" although they are not actually debating anything. Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Anne Coulter, Michael Savage are not debating anything. Neither are Keith Olberman or Rachel Maddow. Finally there is the certifiable nut bag known as Glenn Beck that, really, should be stopped. Then there is the woman with the giant sucking black hole between her ears, Sarah Palin, out there also spewing the words that worry me.
Talking about leading some kind of revolution is dangerous. Talking about "reloading" is dangerous. Creating a website with red targets over places where Democratic politicians live is dangerous. It sends the wrong message. It does not promote debate. It does not seem to encourage the American Way. It smacks of violence, revolution, sedition and danger.
I hope nothing happens. I hope elections solve the problem, as has been the way of this country from the beginning. I hope civility wins out. I really do, but it will not surprise me if one of those teetering on the edge uses some of those dangerous words to do something equally dangerous.
What I would never do, however, is suggest that there needs to be some kind of movement. I would never suggest that thousands of people gather and target a certain political party and, perhaps, be violent towards them. For crying out loud, I am anti-gun and anti-war and the thought of anyone ever taking anything I said or wrote so seriously that they would want to commit an act of violence makes me nauseous.
I am not here saying that there are conservatives who want to commit violence. I firmly believe that most people are trying to live their lives and not hurt anyone. I think that most of these "tea party" nut jobs are people who are confused and misinformed and that if they would just take the time to honestly, and calmly, talk to someone on the other side they might, at least, understand that other person. I am not saying minds and opinions would change, but at least people would understand each other and that has to be a step in the right direction.
I am, however, worried about the lunatic fringe out there. Let us not forget that there have been lunatics who have done a lot of damage and made other people who wanted to actively engage in civilized debate, look like idiots. There was that guy who recently walked into a church and shot a doctor in the head who was performing abortions. Then there was the guy who lived in the woods and put bombs at abortion clinics and, also, the Atlanta Olympics. There are people out there who are just teetering on the brink, hearing the voices in their head, and it doesn't take much to tip them over.
This is why I am worried about some of the voices that are currently speaking so loudly these days. The pundits are now in charge of "political debate" although they are not actually debating anything. Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Anne Coulter, Michael Savage are not debating anything. Neither are Keith Olberman or Rachel Maddow. Finally there is the certifiable nut bag known as Glenn Beck that, really, should be stopped. Then there is the woman with the giant sucking black hole between her ears, Sarah Palin, out there also spewing the words that worry me.
Talking about leading some kind of revolution is dangerous. Talking about "reloading" is dangerous. Creating a website with red targets over places where Democratic politicians live is dangerous. It sends the wrong message. It does not promote debate. It does not seem to encourage the American Way. It smacks of violence, revolution, sedition and danger.
I hope nothing happens. I hope elections solve the problem, as has been the way of this country from the beginning. I hope civility wins out. I really do, but it will not surprise me if one of those teetering on the edge uses some of those dangerous words to do something equally dangerous.
| 51 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
