Opinion:

Selective outrage is universal

There is a post by Owen at Boots and Sabers about "Selective Outrage", addressing a comment by Ted Kennedy saying that the war in Iraq has made a terrorist attack that uses a nuclear weapon more likely rather than less likely as claimed by the administration. This comment mirrors Republican assertions (specifically by Vice President Dick Cheney) that a Kerry Presidency would make terrorist attacks more likely.

Selective outrage is present on BOTH sides. I see no outcry from the right-wing over the mailings by Republicans saying that Kerry would outlaw the Christian Bible, just as there was no outcry from the left-wing over the remarks by Kennedy.

Debate is dead in the United States. This death is exemplified by the spirit that has been consistently shown by the right-wing where any questioning the administration on the conduct of the war in Iraq is unpatriotic at best and could be considered treason. Joe Gandelman at The Moderate Voice has an excellent post about how this is repugnant and turning at least one voter away from the current administration. The left-wing, which claims to value diversity of opinion immediately excoriates anyone who does not follow the party line. See any Democratic Underground posting thread where someone even tries to present a rational, non-attacking questioning of the beliefs presented. You need the agreement of both sides to have a debate, but sadly the only agreement both wings of political belief have is to suppress any dissent and call it treason.

I am disgusted by BOTH sides because of the hypocrisy I see in their selective outrage. Every time I read a weblog from the right-wing complaining about the left-wing, or a left-wing weblog complaining about the right-wing, I am disgusted because of when their own side commits the same outrage, there is silence (with some exceptions, such as Baldilocks, who did call foul on Republicans trying to Nader on the ballot only in the states where the potential votes lost by Kerry would swing the state to Bush).

As I have said before, each side needs to police their own, and if that does not happen soon, we will lose the democracy that we claim to be trying to establish in the Middle East.

(Thanks to John of Argghhh! for the link to the Selective Outrage post)