Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Snow Jobs, Part 3

It's official - I'm getting old.

After shoveling the sidewalks and driveway and digging out two cars multiple times yesterday, this morning I hurt in places I'd forgotten I had places. The only good part of the day was the big pot of creamy gulasch I made for supper, which was just the right thing for aching joints. Especially when washed down with a good red wine.

Nevertheless, I still hurt.

And I took a gentle intellectual wire-brushing from Suzy Q over my castigation of Rush Limbaugh in yesterday's post. She pointed out that I had mistaken the source of some verbiage Mr Limbaugh had used - I identified the "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" words as the Preamble to the Constitution...as Suzy Q correctly points out, they actually appear in the Declaration of Independence. That's what happens when I get a full head of indignant steam up and write before I think. She also suggested that Mr Limbaugh's tirade was not as worrisome as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's assertion that if something isn't done quickly, "500 million jobs will disappear each week."

Intellectually battered and bleeding, Bilbo lurches back against the ropes and tries to collect his thoughts...

I suppose, in a twisted way, I've made my own point. Instead of reasoned debate and discussion of critical issues that affect each of us, we are engaging in a war of bluster and sound bites, with shots taken more often from the hip and heart than the brain. I can be as guilty of this as anyone. Because I get so infuriated by the relentless demagoguery of people like Rush Limbaugh, I sometimes allow myself to get distracted from pointing out the equally stupid pronouncements of some from the other side of the argument. My basic stand remains as ever: we have allowed our policy discussions to be hijacked by those who shout loudest from the farthest ends of the political spectrum, rather than seeking points of agreement (however few they may be) and using them as a basis for working outward to find reasonable solutions for our problems.

Rush Limbaugh equates the least compromise of his conservative ideals as a sellout, rather than a search for agreement. Nancy Pelosi frequently opens her mouth before making sure the brain clutch is engaged. And all the people who slavishly follow them continue to violate Bilbo's First Law: Don't let anyone do your thinking for you.

Thank you, Suzy Q, for pointing out my mistake. I'll try to do better.

Now, if only our elected reprehensives and the shouting blowhards who try hardest to influence them could do the same...

Have a good day. Stay warm (not applicable in Palembang and Southern California). More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

8 comments:

The Mistress of the Dark said...

No snow...but freezing cold in PA now...Brrrrr

Amanda said...

I hope you're having a better day today than yesterday.

an orange county girl said...

we have allowed our policy discussions to be hijacked by those who shout loudest from the farthest ends of the political spectrum, rather than seeking points of agreement (however few they may be) and using them as a basis for working outward to find reasonable solutions for our problems

this is it in a nutshell. so well said! maybe you should be hired as a mediator between the dems and GOP in congress.

Bilbo said...

Andrea - it was so cold at the bus stop this morning that the Congressmen all had their hands in their own pockets.

Amanda - aside from freezing my you-know-what off, yes, thank you.

Bandit - believe me, I'm aware. And feel free to use "reprehensives." I don't think it's a real word, though...I made it up from some song lyrics from the old Christmas special "Mr Magoo's Christmas Carol," in which the people who show up to rob Scrooge's body sing,

"We're reprehensible...
We'll steal your pen and pencible."

Liz - I don't think I could stay calm long enough to do much good, but thanks for the implied vote of confidence!

vw: ellyes - belonging to elly?

fiona said...

I've encountered Rush Limbaugh on the radio...I thought it was a Spoof!
I honestly did!
Sheesh!
Stay cosy dear :-)

wv - blubc - Rush Limbaugh?

Anonymous said...

Rush Limbaugh gives me heartburn. But he's fun to hear.

Mike said...

The Right has been making stuff up for eight years. Now the Left has eight years to counter. (yes eight) So Bilbo, being in the middle, can make up all the stuff he wants to about both sides.

When Bilbo, like myself, makes up stuff, he knows it's true. Because he would never make up something that wasn't.

Wv - enabledi - Something I wish on Rush.

Mrs. Geezerette said...

Bilbo I knew you would be good-natured about the correction and welcome it.

I agree with you that we need to engage in calm, respectful, honest discussion about these important issues that impact all of us. We need to be sharing our views with others minus the sarcasm. But people's real philosophical differences can make this nearly impossible. We truly must have a culture war going on right now.