Town Halls - A Momentous Change in the Socio-Political Lands

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HB3
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Post by HB3 » 08-30-2009 04:31 PM

Thanks for the thoughtful reply.
After the former Prez became a lame duck all the rats left the sinking ship and claim that Concer ideas wasn't the problem but he was.
Well, I think that's true. How was Bush a "conservative"? The can of worms you refer to is in distinguishing between what these terms, "liberal" and "conservative," really mean, and how they're misappropriated by various peoples/parties. I'd maintain in most important ways, Bush was a liberal. What exactly did he "conserve"? Not money. Not traditional America. Of course, he used the language of "conservation" when it was convenient, and yes, many people were fooled. And I can't argue that many people were fooled because of their own expectations.

Nevertheless, I maintain that the majority of people have common sense, and can sense when something is wrong, even when they can't explain in convincing, coherent, or rational ways what they're feeling. That doesn't mean that the feeling is illegitimate, however.

I think it's probably too much to ask of people that they can explain their sense or morality or normalcy in intricate philosophical terms. A "people" has an ingrained sense of who and what they are that is inculcated from birth in countless different ways -- a "mythology," if you will. In a well functioning society, this ingrained knowledge is passed on generationally to form an ongoing sense of continuity that gives meaning to people's lives without having to reinvent the wheel and specifically explicate that knowledge. That's how civilizations progress. Some become theoreticians. Some don't. But with a shared sense of purpose, all are valuable.

And that's precisely what's broken down.

So I have a basically different reaction to what you describe as "brainwashing" from the media. Rather, it seems to be right-wing talk radio (and Fox News, I guess) are cynically playing off of people's sense of fragmenting continuity. In other words, they provide the illusion that someone is speaking for them, looking out for their interests. I don't think that talk radio is creating anything that isn't already there. People's basic instinctual sense that something is deeply amiss is surely correct. And that is a kind of "BS meter" that sees through the propaganda coming at them from the government.

So, the basic distinction: I think the common American people have a deeply intuitive intelligence that is sometimes incoherent in rational terms, but that doesn't mean they're wrong in this case. Rather, they sense that there is indeed a serious threat to that very continuity -- of country, culture, and identity -- they've been raised on and wish to preserve...or "conserve." And that's why they're so angry. They don't understand it, they can't explain it...but they know that it's real.
Last edited by HB3 on 08-30-2009 04:40 PM, edited 1 time in total.

HB3
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Post by HB3 » 08-30-2009 04:44 PM

And I guess I'm not supposed to post articles here, but here's an excerpt from a VDH article I thought had some interesting points. I guess I'll also restate that I don't unreservedly recommend this guy at all. Anyway, speaking of this shifting ideological undertow, he says:
Usually such ideologies do not take hold in America, given its tradition of liberty, frontier self-reliance, and emphasis on personal freedom rather than mandated fraternity and egalitarianism. At times, however, the stars line up, when a national catastrophe, like war or depression, coincides with the appearance of an unusually gifted, highly polished, and eloquent populist. But the anointed one must be savvy enough to run first as a centrist in order later to govern as a statist.

Given the September 2008 financial meltdown, the unhappiness over the war, the ongoing recession, and Barack Obama’s postracial claims and singular hope-and-change rhetoric, we found ourselves in just such a situation. For one of the rare times in American history, statism could take hold, and the country could be pushed far to the left.

That goal is the touchstone that explains the seemingly inexplicable — and explains also why, when Obama is losing independents, conservative Democrats, and moderate Republicans, his anxious base nevertheless keeps pushing him to become even more partisan, more left-wing, angrier, and more in a hurry to rush things through. They understand the unpopularity of the agenda and the brief shelf life of the president’s charm. One term may be enough to establish lasting institutional change.
http://victorhanson.com/articles/hanson082909.html

cherry
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OBAMA -- The United States does not torture.

Post by cherry » 08-30-2009 07:38 PM

Congressman Doggett Speaking at Health Care Rally

I will be speaking on health insurance reform at an important rally at 3 p.m. Saturday, August 29 at the First United Methodist Church, 1201 Lavaca Street in Austin. I hope you mark it on your calendar.



Congressman Doggett Hosts Health Care Telephone Town Hall

I believe that healthy families are critical to a healthy economy and a healthy America. To hear from as many constituents as possible, in August alone, I held six public face-to-face events to answer any questions about health care reform. On Monday, August 24, I held a live telephone town hall ..... During the call, which went over the hour scheduled, I was able to address concerns ranging from how the public plan will increase competition and lower costs to how health care reform will make Medicare work harder for the people that need it most. I also had the chance to discuss certain misinformation, including false claims that the legislation extends benefits to illegal immigrants or that it creates what some opponents have called "death panels." I want to hear from you as Congress develops a solution that works for Central Texas families and all Americans.


www.doggett.house.gov
U.S. Congressman Doggett held the Health Care Town Hall Meeting at the United Methodist Church across the street from the Texas Capitol yesterday. There were no disruptions in the church. ;)

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