I’ve noticed a trend during the last several years that is starting to scare me. More and more, people are forsaking independent thought in favor of running with like-minded people like a pack of wolves. They operate like lockstep sycophants, working in tandem and rubberstamping the dogmas of their leaders. They have adopted a kind of union mentality or group-think to accomplish a given set of partisan goals. They are allowing themselves to become robotic -- like Stepford Wives -- reacting in a knee-jerk fashion to events that occur on a daily basis.
I’m not sure what to blame for this frightening phenomenon. Is it talk radio? TV Talk shows? Advocacy groups? The Internet? Personal insecurity? It’s anyone’s guess -- possibly a combination of all of the above and more. But whatever the cause, we see the results of this trend all around us.
Books have gotten to the top of the New York Times Best Seller List almost completely on the strength of some talk show host’s recommendation. They have also achieved this position because they appealed to the ideology of some extreme political fringe, whose members, acting on dictates from the top, all purchased copies.
Very often, thousands of complaints will be registered with the FCC about a given TV show, with the one particular advocacy group’s members, many of whom having never seen the episode in question, accounting for more than 90% of those complaints.
Many Web sites that supposedly invite editorials from all points of view are ultimately dominated by those from one end of the political spectrum or the other, with those adhering to that view in cahoots with one another to ensure that dissenting voices are drowned out.
Political polls that are not conducted scientifically cannot be trusted because followers of one or more of the candidates will often organize and vote over and over to skew the results, which will then not reflect the true leanings of voters. Case-in-point: Ron Paul’s ardent supporters during the Republican primaries. They took Louisiana’s supposed Election Day maxim of “vote early and vote often” quite seriously. This same kind of thing apparently happens during the voting for contestants on those TV talent shows, with supporters of one or more of them organizing to artificially inflate the totals for their favorite.
Even the major political parties are starting to frown on independent thought and are now even shunning those who would dare to practice it. One must follow the party line to come up in their ranks. For example, Sargent Shriver, back in 1972, was the last pro-life candidate to appear on the national ticket of the Democratic Party. And I can’t even remember the last pro-choice candidate to appear on a national GOP ticket.
To be a Democrat in good standing these days, one must be pro-choice, pro-gay rights, against the war in Iraq, a radical environmentalist, against offshore oil drilling, for tax rates that soak the rich, anti-business, anti-gun, for universal healthcare, for expansion of social-welfare programs, and an advocate of bigger government. To be a good Republican, one must be almost the total opposite. It’s no wonder there’s so much gridlock not just in Washington, but everywhere we turn.
Comments