I have been listening to a lot of right wing talk show hosts. Hannity, Medved et al and I have been distressed at the level of stupidity of the callers supporting Judge Moore, make that Mr. Moore - he doesn't deserve the title. Even my family is getting wrapped up in this demogoguery.
Thecallers all say that our laws are based on this and that America was founded on these principles. I wish, I wish, I wish these talk show hosts would do one thing. Ask these callers to name the 10 - just what are the 10 commandments.
My brother gets kind of wrapped around the axle by these guys. He was touting the same BS when I asked him what the ten commandments were. You could have dropped a pin. "What" he said. "What are they?", I said, "If you're going to rage about this, surely you know what they are - just the basic concept - you don't need the exact wording." Well, of couse he got the obvious ones - no killing and no stealing but hmmmm what are those pesky ten.
Well, Hannity, if he was sincere and fair which he is not (I have listened to him a lot) would ask his god fearing listeners that. I think it woud be quite revealing. I am willing to bet that most will have a low score.
Speaking of score, I went on to write them down for my brother emphasizing the 1st commandment - that it is 1st and foremost - number one - top of the list - YOU WORSHIP ONLY ME.
So we listed all ten and then I placed three columns next to them. In the first column we placed a check mark on the ones that he had come up with before I listed them (he had 4) I told him that the 2nd column will have a "1" or less. A "1" indicates a one to one correlation. A fraction indicates partial correlation and a "0" indicates no correlation at all.
Rate them as to how they correlate with American law. (we came up with a number less than 3 out of a possible of 10)
Then I said that in the 3rd column we were going to place an "A" or a "U". A = American and U= Un-American - rate the concept. For example, worship of one and only one god is unamerican. Therefore the 1st commandment is a decidedly unamerican concept. It is different from law correlation, e.g., honor parents is an American concept though there is no law compelling it.
We came up with 6 that were totally un-American in concept.
So there you have it. 4 were known instead of 10 (a score probably not that far off of what most Americans could score IMHO), correlation to law of 2.25 as opposed to a score of 10 by most who have not read them, and wholly 6 of them are un-American in concept.
That did it, my brother is now on the other side of the fence.
By the way, Medved was being very refreshing and logical on the subject. He was harangued by his listeners but he stuck fast to his reasoning. He has great disdain for Moore and his politicising the issue for a possible gov run. He is the only RW talk show host that has mentioned that Moore snuck the monument in under the protest of his fellow judges. He is calling for Moore to resign because if he doesn't understand the rule of law and its opposite - anarchy then he has no business being a judge. Whether you agree with the decision or not you abide by it because it is the law. A judge should be showing that.
Then he would go on to mention that most Americans do not follow all these commands and mentioned that the 10 comm. statue itself would constitute a graven image. That god on our money constitutes using his name in vain. He asked his listeners over and over to define just exactly what rights of Moore's were abrogated emphasizing that none were or are being abrogated. Of course the American idiots kept calling in to say that he couldn't say god and Medved said nobody is stopping him from saying god. He can say it all he wants, in fact, he could take out a billboard at his expense and it would be seen by many more people and then he asked, "so would you want the goverment to pay for it? - the billboard - why not - what is the difference." He mentioned that Moore could put a cross up on his lawn.
He pointed out that everyone has a right to free speech but that certain civil positions should not do so under the guise of the office they hold. He would defend the right of a policeman to wear a cross on his neck but would he support allowing that cop to paint a cross on his police car - no!!. He has a responsibility not to carry free speech into this civil function.
He also tried to get people to empathize with the plight of Hindus and atheists and others who might come into this courtroom expecting a fair trial and being intimidated by this rock and Mr Moore.
This voice of reason in the midst of vile unthinking diatribes was very refreshing. I predict he will not be on the air much longer. You cannot spout reason to the American public without suffering consequences.
Unfortunately he said some other things that revealed that he really hasn't got a clear concept of the seperation of church and state but I appreciate that he can reason so well.
By the way, I have been "thumbing" around the radio station listening to the talk show hosts (Hannity, Savage, Limbaugh, Medved). There is no dearth of right wing hosts on the syndicated or local level. They all whine about the left wing organization and their control of the media. Yet I can find no left wing hosts.
Can anyone name one - liberal radio talk show host?
Bentspoon
Thecallers all say that our laws are based on this and that America was founded on these principles. I wish, I wish, I wish these talk show hosts would do one thing. Ask these callers to name the 10 - just what are the 10 commandments.
My brother gets kind of wrapped around the axle by these guys. He was touting the same BS when I asked him what the ten commandments were. You could have dropped a pin. "What" he said. "What are they?", I said, "If you're going to rage about this, surely you know what they are - just the basic concept - you don't need the exact wording." Well, of couse he got the obvious ones - no killing and no stealing but hmmmm what are those pesky ten.
Well, Hannity, if he was sincere and fair which he is not (I have listened to him a lot) would ask his god fearing listeners that. I think it woud be quite revealing. I am willing to bet that most will have a low score.
Speaking of score, I went on to write them down for my brother emphasizing the 1st commandment - that it is 1st and foremost - number one - top of the list - YOU WORSHIP ONLY ME.
So we listed all ten and then I placed three columns next to them. In the first column we placed a check mark on the ones that he had come up with before I listed them (he had 4) I told him that the 2nd column will have a "1" or less. A "1" indicates a one to one correlation. A fraction indicates partial correlation and a "0" indicates no correlation at all.
Rate them as to how they correlate with American law. (we came up with a number less than 3 out of a possible of 10)
Then I said that in the 3rd column we were going to place an "A" or a "U". A = American and U= Un-American - rate the concept. For example, worship of one and only one god is unamerican. Therefore the 1st commandment is a decidedly unamerican concept. It is different from law correlation, e.g., honor parents is an American concept though there is no law compelling it.
We came up with 6 that were totally un-American in concept.
So there you have it. 4 were known instead of 10 (a score probably not that far off of what most Americans could score IMHO), correlation to law of 2.25 as opposed to a score of 10 by most who have not read them, and wholly 6 of them are un-American in concept.
That did it, my brother is now on the other side of the fence.
By the way, Medved was being very refreshing and logical on the subject. He was harangued by his listeners but he stuck fast to his reasoning. He has great disdain for Moore and his politicising the issue for a possible gov run. He is the only RW talk show host that has mentioned that Moore snuck the monument in under the protest of his fellow judges. He is calling for Moore to resign because if he doesn't understand the rule of law and its opposite - anarchy then he has no business being a judge. Whether you agree with the decision or not you abide by it because it is the law. A judge should be showing that.
Then he would go on to mention that most Americans do not follow all these commands and mentioned that the 10 comm. statue itself would constitute a graven image. That god on our money constitutes using his name in vain. He asked his listeners over and over to define just exactly what rights of Moore's were abrogated emphasizing that none were or are being abrogated. Of course the American idiots kept calling in to say that he couldn't say god and Medved said nobody is stopping him from saying god. He can say it all he wants, in fact, he could take out a billboard at his expense and it would be seen by many more people and then he asked, "so would you want the goverment to pay for it? - the billboard - why not - what is the difference." He mentioned that Moore could put a cross up on his lawn.
He pointed out that everyone has a right to free speech but that certain civil positions should not do so under the guise of the office they hold. He would defend the right of a policeman to wear a cross on his neck but would he support allowing that cop to paint a cross on his police car - no!!. He has a responsibility not to carry free speech into this civil function.
He also tried to get people to empathize with the plight of Hindus and atheists and others who might come into this courtroom expecting a fair trial and being intimidated by this rock and Mr Moore.
This voice of reason in the midst of vile unthinking diatribes was very refreshing. I predict he will not be on the air much longer. You cannot spout reason to the American public without suffering consequences.
Unfortunately he said some other things that revealed that he really hasn't got a clear concept of the seperation of church and state but I appreciate that he can reason so well.
By the way, I have been "thumbing" around the radio station listening to the talk show hosts (Hannity, Savage, Limbaugh, Medved). There is no dearth of right wing hosts on the syndicated or local level. They all whine about the left wing organization and their control of the media. Yet I can find no left wing hosts.
Can anyone name one - liberal radio talk show host?
Bentspoon
