House of Eratosthenes

It’s like getting phone calls from credit card companies over missed payments, or to be more accurate about it, passing gas. We all want to criticize others for doing it, but not too harshly, because those who are truly virginal to it are much more a rarity than you might think.

Anyway, I’ve been noticing something for years now. Often, when the left-wingers show me how incredibly wrong I am about things and what a deplorable knuckle-dragging neanderthal I really am…I get the distinct impression they aren’t really even engaged in conversation with me. I miss a point, even a point nobody really is willing to say is very important, it is obligatory to point out that I missed it. If they miss a point…oh well…and in fact, even though they’re willing — eager — to admit they missed the point, they still have the knowledge necessary to pronounce the point irrelevant, and furthermore, anybody who would bother to point out this thing they missed, is stupid.

It’s like — they aren’t trying to explain anything to me — they’re putting on a show, for others who might be reading the thread (a generation ago we called that “being in the room”). I’m simply an object in their sideshow performance, the mission of which is to ingratiate themselves with others who already agree with them.

I’ve always wondered, why, then, does the conversation go on and on? Is their need to ingratiate themselves such an unquenchable thirst, that even a bottomless well of atta-boys cannot satiate it?

While I mull that one over, Phil has some things to point out in one of his comments over here…

Long ago I came to the conclusion that Progressivists are people who take pride in being able to interpret any action, anywhere, at any time, to somehow support their position and discredit their critics.

This is usually done with a series of logical discontinuities bandaged together with fuzzy assertations that sound like they might make sense on the surface — but in fact under any scrutiny turn out to be nonsense.

Therefore they end up with something that mimics a logical argument when in fact logic was something that had to be systematically factored out of the “argument” in the first place for it to be made.

This doesn’t answer my question, but I think it does provide the means to arriving at one possible explanation.

I think there’s a curious economy going on at the left-wing side. These “fuzzy assertions that sound like they might make sense on the surface,” are like assets. They are precious commodities. There is a chasmic differential between their demand and their associated supply, with the demand enjoying the upper hand, round after round after round. The left side of the spectrum is in a constant need of fresh sound bites — sound bites that sound like they might make sense, nevermind if they really do.

And so within the leftist collective, we have the same thing going on that we ultimately have with all human collectives: The human need to demonstrate one’s individual worthiness, although culturally suppressed, fights its way to the surface. Should the collective ship run into some rough seas, deep down the collectivist passengers understand the noble egalitarian vision will be the first casualty. And then, when it’s time to toss some of the crew overboard, all individuals-at-heart wish to demonstrate why they should be the last ones pitched over the side.

And so they “argue” with philistines like me, to demonstrate themselves to be authors of fresh, new sound bites. The precious commodities of the left wing. New, innovative ways to make bad ideas look good…on the surface.

Which would explain Phil’s observation, and mine as well. They really aren’t having a dialog; they’re just going through the motions of having one. That’s why their effluence doesn’t make any sense. They’re smart enough to realize this themselves, they’re just in a desperate search for more suckers who might be fooled, and offering creative new packaging to other hucksters who are looking for the same suckers.

It’s kind of like a multitude of used-car salesmen sharing information to help each other out, but at the same time competing for the “Salesman of the Month” parking spot.

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Phil’s ObservationFriday, February 1st, 2008

Phil’s Observation
Friday, February 1st, 2008