But judging others - especially those whom they hate - is probably the secular media's favorite pastime. In the aftermath of the shooting of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords earlier this year, the secular media rushed to condemn anyone whose political or religious views annoyed them. Christians, the Tea Party, opponents of amnesty for illegal aliens, Republicans, Sarah Palin - all of these and more were painted as the "real" culprits. The secular media was engaged in a vicious smear aimed at those who dared to disagree with the secular progressive viewpoint.
One self-serving result of the secular media's blood libel was an emphasis on what was called the "new civility". Anyone who has even been on a college campus or lived in a totalitarian state will instantly recognize the "new civility" as nothing more than the old cries for censorship. "Disagree with us," the secular media says, "and anything bad that happens in the country will be blamed on you, no matter who actually did it. Be polite, but don't you dare disagree with whatever we say." Numerous politicians chimed in, perhaps seeing the political windfall that could be had from muzzling political opponents.
But the "new civility" seems to be a strange state of affairs indeed. James Taranto has an interesting sample of the reaction in the aftermath of the recently-passed compromise on raising the debt ceiling.
Some key quotes:
A New York Times editorial calls the [compromise] deal "a nearly complete capitulation to the hostage-taking demands of Republican extremists. . . . This episode demonstrates the effectiveness of extortion. Reasonable people are forced to give in to those willing to endanger the national interest." Haha, remember "civility"?
Former Enron adviser Paul Krugman is even huffier: "By demonstrating that raw extortion works and carries no political cost, [the deal] will take America a long way down the road to banana-republic status. . . . What Republicans have just gotten away with calls our whole system of government into question."
Roars Robert Kuttner of The American Prospect: "The United States has been rendered ungovernable except on the extortionate terms of the far-right. For the first time in modern history, one of the two major parties is in the hands of a faction so extreme that it is willing to destroy the economy if it doesn't get its way. And the Tea Party Republicans have a perfect foil in President Barack Obama."
And, as Roll Call reports, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, the Kansas City, Mo., Democrat, "said early reports of the new deal appeared to be 'a sugar-coated Satan sandwich.' " Hey, it's better than peas!
Not to be outdone, Vice President Joe Biden reportedly attended a meeting of Congressional Democrats who labeled their Republican counterparts "terrorists". No word if they were being force-fed Satan sandwiches at the time.
That is just a small sample of the reaction to the deal. For my part I oppose the budget deal, but ... supporters are now terrorists? Hostage-takers dispensing Satan sandwiches? Is this the "new civility" we were promised? And whatever happened to, "Judge not, and ye shall not be judged"? If this is the "new civility", then include me out.
Incidentally, Congresswoman Giffords voted in favor of the compromise - her first vote since the shooting. Do her Democratic colleagues consider her a terrorist?
1 comment:
I was struck by the word 'extortion' used by three of those you quote. Why would there be so much unanimity in the choice of a word so quickly. Does someone send out marching orders to our intelligentsia on the Left? Do they just copy each other via email? How do they do it?
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