----- Original Message ----- From: "JDG" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Killer Bs Discussion" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Sunday, April 04, 2004 4:12 PM Subject: Re: Welcome to life in George W. Bush's America
> At 04:01 PM 4/4/2004 -0500 Dan Minette wrote: > >I wouldn't really argue with the concept that, of the two parties, the > >Democrats have the more serious responsibility to talk straight facts about > >SS to the American people. But, I would argue it is the American people > >who have the most serious responsibility. One of the reasons that > >politicians lie to the American people is that, in many cases, the people > >want help in avoiding tough truths. > > Careful Dan, it sounds an awful lot to me like you are blaming the listener > for being lied to, and assigning the listener the most serious level of > responsibility. It is not really the listener's fault if they are told a > lie, and they believe - not nearly to the degree anyways, that it is the > liar's fault. It is when they have a choice between people who tell hard truths and people who tell lies that are easily determined to be lies and they consistently pick the liars. The moral reprehensibility of politicians who lie to get elected is higher than the moral reprehensibility of those who buy the easy lie before the hard truth. I have no problem with that. But, it is the electorate who is responsible for the penalty associated with telling hard truths. Let me give a extreme historical example that can be used to illuminate this principal. Hitler is certainly more morally reprehensible than the average German citizen who voted for him. But, the citizens of Germany bear an enormous responsibility for supporting the Nazis, even though they were lied to by the Nazis. Clearly, the American government's faults are very minor in comparison. But, if the American people chose straight shooters who disagreed with them on some issues over folks who mouth pleasant fictions more often, we'd have a better government. Dan M. _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
