Is America Becoming a Fear Society?

From Natan Sharansky’s The Case for Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny & Terror, pp. 196–197:

For dissidents within the former Soviet Union, these moral lines [between good and evil, right and wrong] were practically self-evident. Unlike philosophers and rights activists in the West, we dissidents did not feel the need to split hairs over the precise nature of human rights.
We knew that to determine whether or not human rights were being generally upheld in a particular country, we only had to ask a few simple questions:
Could the people in that country speak their minds?
Could they publish their opinions?
Could they practice their faith?
Could they learn the history and culture of their people?

We understood that for those living in a fear society, the answer to most of our questions, if not all of them, was no. The structural elements that enable democratic societies to respect human rights—independent courts, the rule of law, a free press, a freely elected government, meaningful opposition parties, not to mention human rights organizations—were all glaringly absent in fear societies. While these structures are not always sufficient to ensure the protection of human rights, our experience had convinced us that without them. human rights would inevitably be crushed. Every political prisoner in the Gulag recognized the moral chasm that separated free societies and fear societies. We recognized that a free society did not guarantee the protection of human rights, but we knew that a fear society guaranteed their violation.

When someone like Phil Robertson is excoriated by society for speaking his mind, for having his opinion published, for expressing his religious beliefs, I have to wonder whether America is not turning into the type of fear society described in Sharansky’s book; when courts are packed with liberal judges who legislate from the bench, when the press blatantly shows its bias for one particular party, when efforts to insist on proper voter identification are characterized by the press and one political party as voter suppression rather than its opposite, when the press and the political party in power try to convince the minority party to remake itself in the opposition’s image, I have to wonder whether America is not turning into the type of fear society described in Sharansky’s book.

The Marketing of Evil

I recently finished reading David Kupelian’s 2005 book, The Marketing of Evil: How Radicals, Elitists, and Pseudo-Experts Sell Us Corruption Disguised as Freedom.

I found it generally interesting, although I thought his characterization of Catholicism did not make a lot of sense in that he dismissed it for being hierarchical and yet blamed its perceived problems on the seminaries rather than on the hierarchy.

I liked his characterization of the dangers of a leftist, subversive press, though:

[A] subversive press…generates a subtle but powerful pressure on [a Republican] president and other [Republican] leaders. Put yourself in the president’s place. You’re basically always surrounded by the press corps—professional on the surface but secretly hostile to you and, in fact, hostile to the foundational values underlying Western civilization. They’re watching every move you make, recording every word that comes out of your [mouth], looking for ways to undermine you. Remember—they wanted someone else to win the office you hold.

The leftist, subversive press has been anything but subtle and secretly hostile, though, where Sarah Palin is concerned, and she knows it—and so does everyone else, for that matter; fortunately for her, they’ve overplayed their hand, in my opinion, marginalizing themselves instead of her.

Hope Springs Eternal

Gee, if this guy had been running in 2008 I would have voted for him, too. Must be some other Obama, though, because the One we got is a flaming leftist from way back.

But seriously, folks, this is how the guy got elected. Gee, don't he sound great? [And, of course, the lamestream media didn’t challenge these characterizations since they were, and are still, in bed with him. — Ed.]

I weep for our country.

Ah, well, hope springs eternal. Palin 2012.

On How Media Bias Can Be So Pernicious

From Herman Cain’s book, They Think You’re Stupid: Why Democrats Lost Your Vote and What Republicans Must Do to Keep It, page 105:

Both political parties spend millions of dollars trying to sell their brand identity during elections, when a lot of the perception of their brand is created between elections by . . . (drum roll) the media.

Man, how they hate her.

Ya gotta love it: Sarah Palin accuses the media of committing a blood libel in trying to tie her to the shootings in Tuscon and, instead of responding to her criticisms, they accuse her of being an anti-semite for using the term “blood libel.”

Don’t let the Golden Gate hit you on the way out.

If Chris Matthews thinks so highly of the ChiComs, why doesn’t he just move to China?

A Letter to the Program Director of My Local Radio Station

Dear [Program Director],

I find it ironic that, between segments of conservative talk radio from Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, your radio station would air Democrat talking points passing as legitimate news updates. I refer specifically to today’s stories about Senator Bunning’s refusal to go along with unanimous support for cutting off debate on a spending bill that does not meet the Democrats’ own pay-as-you-go standard—stories that do not even mention the pay-as-you-go standard.

If I wanted stories like that, I’d watch MSNBC.

I wonder if your station couldn’t find a different source for its news updates—something a little more fair and balanced, perhaps.

Sincerely,
DavidD

P.s. For more on this subject, see this fine post from theblogprof:
http://theblogprof.blogspot.com/2010/03/liberal-msm-no-checks-for-jobless.html

Media Bias

So when does the mainstream media start reporting the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

How is it that the mainstream media can get away with reporting only part of what someone says or with failing to challenge people to reconcile past and current statements?

A Note to the Clueless Roland Burris

Chicago gangsters like Al Capone were criminals who engaged in illegal activities and acts of violence. Is this truly how you expect the President of the United States to act? And to think that people called President Bush a fascist….

One Of These Things Is Not Like The Others

I read recently that Oliver Stone wants to “rehabilitate” Adolph Hitler, Mao Tse-tung, Joseph Stalin, and Joseph McCarthy, saying that they “ ‘have been vilified pretty thoroughly by history.’ ”

It’s interesting that he would lump McCarthy in with three totalitarian dictators responsible for regimes that murdered millions. Hitler, Mao, and Stalin are heroes of the Left whereas it is the Left that has vilified McCarthy. The only thing McCarthy did was to accuse some Communist sympathizers of being Communist sympathizers.

The mistake McCarthy made was in waiting until the Communist sympathizers had gotten too firmly entrenched. I’d be interested in seeing McCarthy's image rehabilitated if it were someone other than Oliver Stone taking up the job.

Oops.

Might the mainstream media now be defending one of their own—that is, Fox News—against attacks from BHO? (See here and here.)

What’s that quote?

First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out
—because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out
—because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out
—because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out
—because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me
—and there was no one left to speak out for me.