A House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand…
So I recently saw an interview, on MSNBC, with Orly Taitz regarding Barack Obama’s birth certificate. Apparently, Orly is one of the leading spokespeople for the “Birther” movement, which claims that Barack Obama was born in Kenya, and therefore not eligible to be President of the United States. You can check out the video below…
After watching the video a few different emotions swelled up. I felt pity for Orly, anger towards the MSNBC “journalists” who set her up, and regret about the level of political discourse in this country. In my opinion, the two MSNBC interviewers simply had Orly on the show to give her a public flogging. I don’t know if the interviewers felt better after publicly humiliating themselves and Orly, but if they do it should be short-lived.
I believe that the only thing the interview did was further strengthen the views of those on the political, social, and cultural extremes and make moderates sick to their stomach. If you are someone who either believes the allegations that President Obama is not a US Citizen, and/or you believe the mainstream media is a liberal propaganda machine, this interview only made you more resolute in those ideas. If you are a liberal who believes everyone on the far right is a nut-case then this interview made you glad that none of your friends are Republican.
This type of “journalism” divides our country, and if we ever want to have anything more than an entertaining political discourse people must push back against this behavior from the media and elected/non-elected leaders.
We are currently in the midst of one of the most important debates of this century regarding the future of healthcare, and all I hear are Republicans jeering Democrats for wanting to take away people’s choices and for wanting to kill old people (thanks Rush Limbaugh). And Democrats respond by calling Republicans greedy insurance company salespeople who only care about money. This CANNOT be the healthcare debate that the American People deserve.
It’s time for our elected officials to step up and tell us what is really going on. It’s time for the American People to hear a debate based on substance and issues, rather than a propaganda campaign being fueled by Insurance Companies, Lobbyists, Doctors, Chambers of Commerce, etc. Universal healthcare has been undertaken by three politically skilled Presidents: FDR, LBJ, and Bill Clinton. We are not going to pass comprehensive and effective legislation if WE - the American People – continue to allow our representatives to grandstand and demagogue. It’s time for all those who say they want change to truly demand it. Instead of going to your townhall meeting with signs, ready to shout-down your representative, go with substantive questions. Go to these meetings and demand that your elected officials cut through the talking points and really level with you. It will be far more difficult and far less rewarding in the moment, than yelling “socialist” or “facist” at the top of your lungs, but maybe… just maybe… you will actually get some straight talk from your elected official. AND maybe… just maybe… your elected official will remember that conversation when they go back to Washington.
I’d have to say Amen to that. I think that MSNBC re: the birthers have shown that rather than simply put a non-story to bed, it’s much more fun to beat the shit out of the clearly stupid, and paint all who oppose them on any issue as equally stupid. It’s not journalism, it’s just a slightly nuanced form of Rove-ian politics, and one that I’m embarrassed to see my side playing.
You got it, man. It reminds me of a Neo-Nazi rally that happened in St. Louis recently and there was a large public outcry, which is understood. And yet, the response was all wrong. There were staged protests and peace sit-ins during the rally. A revolutionary response may have been to ignore such a rally. What a way to tell people what matters in our public discourse than to ignore the things which are just not grounded in any sort of rational behavior or concern with the facts. These KKK and Nazi rallies are meant to insight response and that’s just what we give them. The Coulters, Moores, O’Riellys and Limbaughs of the world want that same reaction, and life is too short to give it to them. It brings us to the stage of emotion when what we need are clear-headed individuals who ask the questions no one wants to ask.