Fear and loathing
When we decide who to support with our vote, it is said that we mainly look to find those who we believe we can trust and those we like. There is a dark side of this as well. I wonder how many vote based upon the negative emotions.
One friend confided in me that she would never vote for Bush because she had a son of military age and was very afraid that he might be drafted. And how many of us have heard people say how much they hated Bush?
Lately, we get the same sentiments directed towards Obama and the Democrats, of course by different people. Now the fear is about the economy and racing towards socialism.
Many feared that McCain would be too old to be president. I think that many in PA who felt that way will paradoxically feel that Specter is young enough for another term.
Recently I learned that Jews voted heavily for Reagan against Carter, the only time Jews turned out in large numbers for a Republican presidential candidate. Was it love of Reagan, identification with him or perhaps a latent fear of the white southern Christian man? Remember the outrage over Palin being so Christian?
To beat the other candidate, you must cast the other fellow as one worthy of fear or loathing. Find a good issue that resonates with people and take it from there.
Have you ever tried to write a decision tree that takes every possible contingency into account? If you ever have, you know how impossible it is, even when the problem seems at first simple.
I believe in people. I believe that most people are trying hard to do the right thing. Unintended consequences prevents the clumsy hand of law from sculpting the nuances of right and wrong. This should be left up to individuals. If there is one thing to loathe and fear, it is the co-opting of the individual by the group. For this reason, laws should be clear, well enforced and few.
One friend confided in me that she would never vote for Bush because she had a son of military age and was very afraid that he might be drafted. And how many of us have heard people say how much they hated Bush?
Lately, we get the same sentiments directed towards Obama and the Democrats, of course by different people. Now the fear is about the economy and racing towards socialism.
Many feared that McCain would be too old to be president. I think that many in PA who felt that way will paradoxically feel that Specter is young enough for another term.
Recently I learned that Jews voted heavily for Reagan against Carter, the only time Jews turned out in large numbers for a Republican presidential candidate. Was it love of Reagan, identification with him or perhaps a latent fear of the white southern Christian man? Remember the outrage over Palin being so Christian?
To beat the other candidate, you must cast the other fellow as one worthy of fear or loathing. Find a good issue that resonates with people and take it from there.
Have you ever tried to write a decision tree that takes every possible contingency into account? If you ever have, you know how impossible it is, even when the problem seems at first simple.
I believe in people. I believe that most people are trying hard to do the right thing. Unintended consequences prevents the clumsy hand of law from sculpting the nuances of right and wrong. This should be left up to individuals. If there is one thing to loathe and fear, it is the co-opting of the individual by the group. For this reason, laws should be clear, well enforced and few.
posted by DocBrain at
6:56 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home