Have you ever seen the move The Running Man? It's based on a Steven King short story, and stars Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Here's the plot. I'm going to give away the ending, but as it's an Ahnold movie, it's quite predictable anyway. Arnold is a helicopter pilot framed for mass murder by the government who ordered said massacre. he can get out of jail by participating in a game show on the government run network. Said show, The Running Man, is hosted by a very powerful guy, played by Richard Dawson of Family Feud fame. Anyway, there is raw footage of the massacre, which the resistance (led by Mick Fleetwood and Dweezil Zappa. Really) manages to play over the air by hacking the network satellite. People see the raw footage, realize they're being lied to, and revolution results.
Actually, there's a bit more to it than that. It's a commentary on our need for entertainment, etc, and I rather like it. it's fun.
But here's how I KNOW it's science Fiction. It isn't the futuristic setting nor is it the devices they use. Nope. it's the part at the end where people who absolutely trust what the TV tells them are SHOWN the truth, and they react to it to effect change.
Doesn't happen in real life.
Here's a prime example. By now, unless you've been off planet, you've heard about the Mitt Romney video where he discusses his contempt for poor people. And his racism as well. He did this at a fundraiser attended by the super-rich. He didn't know he was being recorded. This is a speech he's probably made many times before, in front of many other rooms of donors just like these. This was no "slip of the tongue." It's what he Truly Believes- that he is above most people simply because he is rich.
Ok, so everyone has seen this video.
And many people are offended. As well they should be. It shows Romney's true colors- a plutocrat. A vile person. Even some republicans have come out against it.
Some.
The rest? Bending over backwards to spin it. Where's the outrage from those who had been fooled? Doesn't exist. Why? Because Fox "News" and Rush Limbaugh and the rest of the GOP propaganda machine tells them what to think. Unlike the movie, these people will not think differently despite actual Undisputed proof.
Maybe this is why the GOP wants to stop schools from critical thinking. So people will believe ANY lie that their propaganda ministers wish them to believe.
So how can this be?
I could go into a long dissertation about propaganda techniques, comparing the words of various republicans (especially Karl Rove) to known propagandists of the past (especially Dr. Joseph Goebbels). That's the thing about history. We're supposed to learn from it. Some people don't. Some people repeat it (see examples above.)
I could present my theories which are strictly based upon my research and reading, but are strictly mine, and are, admittedly, biased. (After all, as Colbert said "Reality has a liberal bias.")
But I won't. All I will say is this. People believe what they want to believe, and hear what they want to hear. And they never, ever want to believe they're wrong. fact and reality and with some folks never the twain shall meet.
That's not to say ALL republicans are like this. Far from it. I know MANY republican voters who are absolutely disgusted by the direction their party has turned. "Rockefeller" republicans, mostly. Adherents to Buckley and all that. And they are all voting democrat, as the dems are moderate. They SEEM far more liberal than the republicans, but that's only in comparison. Most Dems are moderate these days, yes, including the president. (Do you really think a LIBERAL would've kept Gitmo open, or extended the Bush tax cuts?) I am admittedly a liberal, not a moderate, but I also am not registered to either party. (Can I register as an anti-republican?)
So there it is.
I wish it were different, but it isn't.
I'd be very confident in an Obama victory if not for all the Jim Crow laws the GOP enacted. And before you say it, every state in the union did studies that showed negligible voter fraud numbers and NONE due to people voting in person twice. Absolutely not worth all the expense... unless you want to keep people from voting. Which several GOP politicians have ADMITTED is the case. Really.
Should POTUS win, will that help moderate republicans retake direction of the party? Doubtful. If history is any indication, the baggers will blame Romney for not being "conservative enough" and move further right. Maybe they'll toughen their "purity tests."
Purity tests. I know of only two major political parties that did those before the GOP. One was the Communist party in the USSR. The other, the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP) in Germany. Never heard of them? Maybe you know them by their colloquial name: Nazi.
Learning from history, folks. It means seeing parallels. As ugly as they can be.
God bless America. And save us from the the current GOP.
Here's the plot. I'm going to give away the ending, but as it's an Ahnold movie, it's quite predictable anyway. Arnold is a helicopter pilot framed for mass murder by the government who ordered said massacre. he can get out of jail by participating in a game show on the government run network. Said show, The Running Man, is hosted by a very powerful guy, played by Richard Dawson of Family Feud fame. Anyway, there is raw footage of the massacre, which the resistance (led by Mick Fleetwood and Dweezil Zappa. Really) manages to play over the air by hacking the network satellite. People see the raw footage, realize they're being lied to, and revolution results.
Actually, there's a bit more to it than that. It's a commentary on our need for entertainment, etc, and I rather like it. it's fun.
But here's how I KNOW it's science Fiction. It isn't the futuristic setting nor is it the devices they use. Nope. it's the part at the end where people who absolutely trust what the TV tells them are SHOWN the truth, and they react to it to effect change.
Doesn't happen in real life.
Here's a prime example. By now, unless you've been off planet, you've heard about the Mitt Romney video where he discusses his contempt for poor people. And his racism as well. He did this at a fundraiser attended by the super-rich. He didn't know he was being recorded. This is a speech he's probably made many times before, in front of many other rooms of donors just like these. This was no "slip of the tongue." It's what he Truly Believes- that he is above most people simply because he is rich.
Ok, so everyone has seen this video.
And many people are offended. As well they should be. It shows Romney's true colors- a plutocrat. A vile person. Even some republicans have come out against it.
Some.
The rest? Bending over backwards to spin it. Where's the outrage from those who had been fooled? Doesn't exist. Why? Because Fox "News" and Rush Limbaugh and the rest of the GOP propaganda machine tells them what to think. Unlike the movie, these people will not think differently despite actual Undisputed proof.
Maybe this is why the GOP wants to stop schools from critical thinking. So people will believe ANY lie that their propaganda ministers wish them to believe.
So how can this be?
I could go into a long dissertation about propaganda techniques, comparing the words of various republicans (especially Karl Rove) to known propagandists of the past (especially Dr. Joseph Goebbels). That's the thing about history. We're supposed to learn from it. Some people don't. Some people repeat it (see examples above.)
I could present my theories which are strictly based upon my research and reading, but are strictly mine, and are, admittedly, biased. (After all, as Colbert said "Reality has a liberal bias.")
But I won't. All I will say is this. People believe what they want to believe, and hear what they want to hear. And they never, ever want to believe they're wrong. fact and reality and with some folks never the twain shall meet.
That's not to say ALL republicans are like this. Far from it. I know MANY republican voters who are absolutely disgusted by the direction their party has turned. "Rockefeller" republicans, mostly. Adherents to Buckley and all that. And they are all voting democrat, as the dems are moderate. They SEEM far more liberal than the republicans, but that's only in comparison. Most Dems are moderate these days, yes, including the president. (Do you really think a LIBERAL would've kept Gitmo open, or extended the Bush tax cuts?) I am admittedly a liberal, not a moderate, but I also am not registered to either party. (Can I register as an anti-republican?)
So there it is.
I wish it were different, but it isn't.
I'd be very confident in an Obama victory if not for all the Jim Crow laws the GOP enacted. And before you say it, every state in the union did studies that showed negligible voter fraud numbers and NONE due to people voting in person twice. Absolutely not worth all the expense... unless you want to keep people from voting. Which several GOP politicians have ADMITTED is the case. Really.
Should POTUS win, will that help moderate republicans retake direction of the party? Doubtful. If history is any indication, the baggers will blame Romney for not being "conservative enough" and move further right. Maybe they'll toughen their "purity tests."
Purity tests. I know of only two major political parties that did those before the GOP. One was the Communist party in the USSR. The other, the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP) in Germany. Never heard of them? Maybe you know them by their colloquial name: Nazi.
Learning from history, folks. It means seeing parallels. As ugly as they can be.
God bless America. And save us from the the current GOP.
Red, White and Blue Sophie.
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