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Showing posts with label debates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label debates. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Essay: Are conservatives cynical about the truth?

Information and comments on the essay:


Are conservatives cynical about the truth?

From the book: Chum for Thought: Throwing Ideas into Dangerous Waters by David Satterlee

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Read or download this essay as a PDF file at: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4eNv8KtePyKRXJfRlpVaVUxUFU/edit?usp=sharing

    Chum For Thought:
    Throwing Ideas into Dangerous Waters

    Are conservatives cynical about the truth?


    I studiously watched all of the 2011-12 Republican primary debates. I wanted to expose myself to a variety of points of view. Although I expected that they might differ from my own current preconceived notions, the exercise left me shocked and appalled.

    It was not just the remarkable certainty of the candidates’ conflicting assertions (they might have demonstrated more party and policy unity). But they freely engaged in the most egregious and transparent distortions of each other’s records and statements (and that was BEFORE their assertions about the incumbent President and his party who, by the way, had no immediate opportunity to present a defense or offer a rebuttal).

    I know that politicians can play hardball and are prone to mudslinging, but I began to feel that there was something at work here that felt palpably evil. So I did some soul-searching and some research, and carefully selected