Is it the fool or the fool who follows him?

I have long been a believer that those getting their news exclusively from Fox News and Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck and other such places are not getting the whole story.

I also know that those who only watch MSNBC and Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow are doing themselves a similar disservice.

These are all people who make money by delivering ratings. The commentators, in particular, deliver ratings by spouting extreme opinions on subjects. Rush does so from the right and Keith does the same thing from the left. To those that lean left or right, those opinions are entertaining, but they should not be mistaken for news.

You cannot realistically stand up in support or opposition to something unless you do your own research. To take someone else's opinion as fact is dangerous and helps no one. One side is hurt because you propagate misinformation. The other side is hurt because you do not truly understand what your position is so you cannot answer questions to support it.

As you might expect, I am currently referring to the ongoing 'debate' over Health Care Reform. I put debate in quotes because debates are generally civil and based on facts. At a minimum the facts in question are grey areas that can be interpreted differently. That is not the case here.

What we have seen over the past couple months are instead arguments with no (or little) factual basis and, in some cases, little relation to the topic in question. For the most part we have attempts by people and groups to prevent debate by occupying the microphone as long as possible. In congress this is called a filibuster.

A filibuster is when a member of congress holds the floor endlessly so that an item cannot be debated or voted on. As long as they keep talking, and they can talk about anything they want, then they hold the floor and nothing else can be done. Here we have the general public engaging in the mother of all filibusters.


This past weekend there was a heavily attended march on Washington with people protesting the Obama Administration. The march was not specifically aimed at the health care issue, but was more a protest against all things Obama. There were numerous signs claiming Obama is both a Fascist and a Socialist -- a contradiction in itself.

I found this video which had me swinging between being sad and mad.


To be fair, I am sure that the person assembling this video used only those people that would help make their video better. My problem is that the people in this video are the people that are getting the most attention and are also the ones that seem to be the least informed.

Don't just claim Obama is a Fascist. Learn what Fascism actually is and explain what, specifically, you think he has done to demonstrate Fascist tendencies. How do those actions compare to things that other Presidents have done? Would you consider them to be Fascist as well?

If you think the country is moving towards Socialism, then put together an argument listing out the specific programs that appear Socialist in nature and why you think they are wrong. Be prepared to explain why other programs that could be considered Socialist are okay -- such as Medicare, Social Security, Education, etc. Of course if you think all of these programs should be abolished as well, then be prepared to discuss how you would prefer to solve the problems that they solve.

If you are upset about all of these 'Czars' that exist in the government, then do some research into who these people are. What responsibilities and powers do they have? Who created that position? How long are they in office? Who do they report to? What is their actual title? (hint: there is no government office with an official title of 'xxxxxxx Czar')

If you cannot answer even the most basic questions about your position, then you really do not have a position.


In the above video I am particularly concerned about the people holding signs comparing Obama to Hitler and stating how he was a great speaker too. Hitler was a great speaker and people followed him blindly in part because he was so eloquent. The implication is that Obama is doing the same thing. That is called a scare tactic.

Isn't every politician at least a decent speaker? Doesn't everyone seeking office need to convince people that what they say is true and that you should support them instead of their opponent? Every President has to convince tens of millions of people to vote for them. Making the jump from great speaker who rallies support to Hitler is pretty substantial, but it looks good on video.

The interesting thing to me is that the world is full of great speakers. But a great speaker is nothing more than that, unless he has people that support him. People that will echo what he says. People that believe what he says without any regard for whether or not it is true. Then the question becomes, who is to be feared more, the person speaking or the people that listen and follow that person without questioning what they are saying?

Should we fear Obama for being a great speaker? If all he has are great speeches but cannot actually do anything, then do we really have much to be afraid of?

We do if people blissfully follow him and believe everything he says and raise him to the point of a supreme authority, then he will have the clout to implement changes that perhaps no one wants. I would say our government is strong enough to resist such ambitions, but the point is that nothing will happen if you cannot rally support to your cause.

Now let's consider this.

What about Rush Limbaugh or Keith Olbermann or Glenn Beck or Rachel Maddow or Bill O'Reilly? They are all great speakers. They have large numbers of people that listen. They have a lot of people that take what they say as fact without questioning it. I saw more than a few Glenn Beck for President signs at the rally. I am sure they were sarcastic, but it demostrates that the person believes and trusts Glenn Beck more than they do President Obama. Should we fear these people?

Should we fear the people that listen to them and do not question what they say? Maybe we should worry that so many people are content to have information spoon fed to them without gathering the information themselves.

Maybe we should be afraid that so many people will go to a rally in Washington DC armed only with a talking point and use that as justification for overthrowing the government.


I will end with this.

If you have an opinion on a topic and have researched it to where it is your own and you truly believe it, then I will respect that even if I disagree. But if you simply take what someone else tells you as fact and do not question it or investigate it, then do not bother me with your thoughts because they are not yours anyway so what does it matter.

If you want to see what actually happens in the government, then I recommend going to cspan.org and watching it unfold in real time or even taped. Form your own opinions about what is going on. Then, when the time comes, you can shout 'You lie' at Rush or Keith or Bill or Rachel or Sean.