Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar
Political Landscape Dominated by Anti-Movements, Not Movements
RECEIVED Tue., Jan. 26, 2010
Dear Editor,
Louis Black has had some of his best editorials lately. There are some things I would like to add to his most recent about "throwing the bums out" and why it doesn't work [“Page Two,” Jan. 22].
More and more today, the political landscape is one dominated by anti-movements instead of movements. We have many people who are very clear about what they are against and very few people who know what they are for. I have actually asked people: "What are you for?" They do not know how to answer the question.
As Louis correctly pointed out, the Ross Perot movement died a quick death because it had no ideology, no philosophy, no ideas. It was a movement of people who simply wanted to vote for somebody else. These people were actually the most docile products of the system.
Another result of this is that people search for villains instead of solutions. This gives rise to the many conspiracy theories, whether they be about the assassination of men like Kennedy and King or about the destruction of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building and the World Trade Center.
And, while most of the conspiracy theories I've heard over the years have some validity, there is also a lot of truth in Hanlon's razor. It basically says, "Never attribute to malice that which can be easily explained by stupidity."
One of the reasons why the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s movement was successful was that King was not interested in punishing the many villains. He treated his opponents as misinformed, not evil. He was, above all, a man of peace.
Perhaps during this period of ideological bankruptcy, Americans will find a positive vision to support. Until they do, it won't matter who is in office.
Louis Black has had some of his best editorials lately. There are some things I would like to add to his most recent about "throwing the bums out" and why it doesn't work [“Page Two,” Jan. 22].
More and more today, the political landscape is one dominated by anti-movements instead of movements. We have many people who are very clear about what they are against and very few people who know what they are for. I have actually asked people: "What are you for?" They do not know how to answer the question.
As Louis correctly pointed out, the Ross Perot movement died a quick death because it had no ideology, no philosophy, no ideas. It was a movement of people who simply wanted to vote for somebody else. These people were actually the most docile products of the system.
Another result of this is that people search for villains instead of solutions. This gives rise to the many conspiracy theories, whether they be about the assassination of men like Kennedy and King or about the destruction of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building and the World Trade Center.
And, while most of the conspiracy theories I've heard over the years have some validity, there is also a lot of truth in Hanlon's razor. It basically says, "Never attribute to malice that which can be easily explained by stupidity."
One of the reasons why the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s movement was successful was that King was not interested in punishing the many villains. He treated his opponents as misinformed, not evil. He was, above all, a man of peace.
Perhaps during this period of ideological bankruptcy, Americans will find a positive vision to support. Until they do, it won't matter who is in office.
Chris Baker
