I know there are a lot of columnists out there who want to say that everything happens for a reason, and there really is someone to blame for every loss. Sometimes, though, teams just lose. They get injured, they get bad calls, they drop balls, they miss field goals, and they lose. It's not because they don't have enough talent, or because they're not well coached, or because their GM is legally retarded, but because things just broke the wrong way. I think that's what you're trying to say here, Boswell, and I think you're right. Sure, there were lots of obvious reasons for the losses to Kansas City and Detroit, and talent, coaching, and personnel were all to blame. But this game... we should have won. We did everything right, or at least well enough, that, 9 times out of 10, we would have won that game. Boswell's right, this was a true heartbreak.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/22/AR2009112202186.html?hpid=topnews
Monday, November 23, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Bad News
Listening to the radio this morning was incredibly depressing. Republicans swept the positions of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General in Virginia. With the Republican majority in the state legislature, this can only mean that we're headed on a disastrous path. No more will schools be a priority. No more will there be major investments in infrastructure. McDonnell wants to promote "free enterprise" to create jobs, but it has been shown time and time again that this doesn't work, at least not in a state that doesn't have an extremely expensive tax code. Virginia's economy has been doing very well despite the recession, and it seems like the voters have thrown out the state party due to national issues.
Another bit of bad news was that Maine rejected a homosexual marriage proposal. The blurb they played was some dude saying how happy he was that they were able to protect marriage. This is the most idiotic argument I can imagine. How does the institution of marriage benefit from being forced into a political role through which people can express prejudice and hatred? When Katie and I got married I was extremely happy, but it was a sobering thought to realize that there are people out there who aren't allowed to experience that same joy. Not because they don't love each other, not because they're not devoted, not because they're not faithful or committed or adoring, but because other people whom they've never met hate them. Any other way of stating the gay marriage issue is disingenuous. Gays are not allowed to marry because supposed "Christians" hate them. This is so obvious to me that I don't understand why it is viewed as partisan. This issue of hate seems as obvious as the fact that the Earth orbits the Sun, yet it can't be presented as news.
This brings me to the underlying issue which has me really upset and scared. Republicans can win an election in which there is absolutely no rational reason to vote for them. People from Maine and even California can cast their votes for hate (literally). Some say that we should give credit where credit is due, and admit that the Republican/evangelical machine is just very good at getting its message out and obfuscating reality. I think this is a cop out. Let Republicans and evangelicals be as misleading or persuasive as they want to be. In an odd sort of way, they deserve to be that persuasive, because they are handicapped by reality. They are at a constant disadvantage because the issues they defend are based on ideas that make no sense and have been proven wrong. Democrats and liberals, on the other hand, support progressive ideas that work. Democrats embrace reason and rationality as a way to make our country better (as opposed to Republicans who are scared of change and uncertainty). I think the ultimate issue is that Democrats recognize that they're right, and thus they don't do enough to defend their goals or ideas. Perhaps they feel like it would be stating the obvious. Whatever the reason, the result is that Republicans own the news cycle, and many ideas which are irrational to the extreme (defense of marriage, trickle down economics, death penalty, infrastructure neglect) exist as reasonable alternatives in the popular mindset. Republicans are much more effective at defending their positions because they have to be - their positions don't make any sense (unless you're a rich short sighted bigot), while Democrats rely far too much on the idea that people are capable of seeing the deeper issues without any assistance from them. It is here that Democrats' reverence for intellect bites them in the ass - it's as though they don't want to insult the minds of the populace with arguments that they should already understand. Until Democrats get the message that they actually have to explain their platform and why it works (as well as the Republican platform and why it doesn't work), they will continue to lose elections they have no reason to lose. This was the one thing that Obama was incredibly effective at - he refreshingly restated the Democratic platform, and enlightened people why it's good for the economy, good for the military, good for the pocketbook, and good for our livelihood. Whatever else you can say about Creigh Deeds, he sure sucked at getting his message out.
Another bit of bad news was that Maine rejected a homosexual marriage proposal. The blurb they played was some dude saying how happy he was that they were able to protect marriage. This is the most idiotic argument I can imagine. How does the institution of marriage benefit from being forced into a political role through which people can express prejudice and hatred? When Katie and I got married I was extremely happy, but it was a sobering thought to realize that there are people out there who aren't allowed to experience that same joy. Not because they don't love each other, not because they're not devoted, not because they're not faithful or committed or adoring, but because other people whom they've never met hate them. Any other way of stating the gay marriage issue is disingenuous. Gays are not allowed to marry because supposed "Christians" hate them. This is so obvious to me that I don't understand why it is viewed as partisan. This issue of hate seems as obvious as the fact that the Earth orbits the Sun, yet it can't be presented as news.
This brings me to the underlying issue which has me really upset and scared. Republicans can win an election in which there is absolutely no rational reason to vote for them. People from Maine and even California can cast their votes for hate (literally). Some say that we should give credit where credit is due, and admit that the Republican/evangelical machine is just very good at getting its message out and obfuscating reality. I think this is a cop out. Let Republicans and evangelicals be as misleading or persuasive as they want to be. In an odd sort of way, they deserve to be that persuasive, because they are handicapped by reality. They are at a constant disadvantage because the issues they defend are based on ideas that make no sense and have been proven wrong. Democrats and liberals, on the other hand, support progressive ideas that work. Democrats embrace reason and rationality as a way to make our country better (as opposed to Republicans who are scared of change and uncertainty). I think the ultimate issue is that Democrats recognize that they're right, and thus they don't do enough to defend their goals or ideas. Perhaps they feel like it would be stating the obvious. Whatever the reason, the result is that Republicans own the news cycle, and many ideas which are irrational to the extreme (defense of marriage, trickle down economics, death penalty, infrastructure neglect) exist as reasonable alternatives in the popular mindset. Republicans are much more effective at defending their positions because they have to be - their positions don't make any sense (unless you're a rich short sighted bigot), while Democrats rely far too much on the idea that people are capable of seeing the deeper issues without any assistance from them. It is here that Democrats' reverence for intellect bites them in the ass - it's as though they don't want to insult the minds of the populace with arguments that they should already understand. Until Democrats get the message that they actually have to explain their platform and why it works (as well as the Republican platform and why it doesn't work), they will continue to lose elections they have no reason to lose. This was the one thing that Obama was incredibly effective at - he refreshingly restated the Democratic platform, and enlightened people why it's good for the economy, good for the military, good for the pocketbook, and good for our livelihood. Whatever else you can say about Creigh Deeds, he sure sucked at getting his message out.
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