Meredith Maran, the author of the book, is a classic example of what happens when you become so open-minded that your brains fall out. A book that I might have been interested in for one reason has now had that reason changed because of what I read in those two articles. At first, I thought it was going to be a book about one woman’s regret over the shocking error in judgment she made in regards to her father. Instead, it looks to be a book to describe how she was actually the victim here. First, she was a victim of her father’s molestation, which ended up being not true. Now she is the victim of a collective mindset that overwhelmed her better judgment and caused her to jump on this molestation bandwagon. In other words, “the devil made her do it”.
Before I continue, allow me to insert the disclaimer that just because many of the claims of molestation have ended up being false does not mean that there is no molestation by fathers to their children. Certainly it does exist, and those who commit such reprehensible acts should have their asses in jail for the rest of their lives.
But as you read on in the article, her liberalism shows forth, and it was then that I understood the true root of her problem, and it’s one of which I have a personal familiarity with because I grew up surrounded by such thinking: She is one of the classical proverbial liberal sheep. What is a liberal sheep? Glad you asked! Liberal sheep all believe along the same liberal lines uncritically, without ever examining whether their views are right, and even when proven wrong, they stick together like – well, sheep! You can usually identify a liberal sheep by the condescending way they talk about anyone who disagrees with them. They will also be puritanical towards conservatives and any of their foibles, but bend over backwards when one of their own commits wrongful acts. A classic example of bending over backwards to protect one of their own is Roman Polanski. Remember how the liberals came out in droves to defend this scummy asshole that drugged and raped a 13 year old? Whoopi Goldberg actually said that it wasn’t “rape rape”!
Another example of this is the stem cell research debate. Most of the time when you see news coverage about the Catholic Church and stem cell research, the headlines almost always say “Church opposes stem cell research”. My friends, this is simply not true! What the Church opposes is only one kind of stem cell research, and that is the research that utilizes embryos. Thing is, despite embryonic stem cell research being high on promises (so high it qualifies as a con job), they have cured nothing. NOTHING! Oh, you’ll be told of all the wonderful things that it can do, but it hasn’t done any of that, and from the looks of it, it never will.
Only the non-controversial stem cells (adult, placental, etc) have proven to do the kinds of things that embryonic stem cell researchers had said that embryonic stem cells would do. The results of these non-embryonic stems cells are such that if only this unhealthy obsession over embryonic stem cells could be dropped, then there’s no telling what kind of progress could be made, especially in freeing up research grants earmarked for embryonic stem cell research and to transfer that funding to something that actually works. And yet, talk to any liberal and they will rant and rave how the Church is holding up stem cell research. I can present the evidence to the contrary to them, but as soon as they are done talking to me and are back in the company of their fellow libs, they are back at it, bitching about that “anti-progress” Church.
The thing is, friends, Maran still has not seen the root of the problem, and that is evidenced by this excerpt from the article:
“Recent American history is rife with examples of the damage done when millions of people become convinced of the same lie at the same time. Choose your favorite fiction from this list, or add your own.
The George W. Bush "victory" in the 2000 election. The list of books that Sarah Palin allegedly banned from the Wasilla Public Library. The persistent rumor that her youngest son was actually her daughter's child. The allegations of Barack Obama's foreign birth, terrorist associations, reverse racism, and socialist tendencies -- first promulgated to prevent his presidency, later used to derail it.
How many and how much have we lost in the seemingly endless War on Terror, triggered by the fictional connection between Saddam Hussein and the 9/11 attacks? The phrase "Weapons of Mass Destruction," invented as a cry for war, has become shorthand for cynical political manipulation and the mass, willful suspension of disbelief.
President Obama's efforts to provide Americans with health care were nearly defeated by the myth that if the program were enacted, "death panels" run by government bureaucrats would decide whether Granny lives or dies.
Gay people's right to marry (my right to marry) is still being denied in most of the "united" states, ostensibly to protect the heterosexual nuclear family from destruction, and -- wait, it gets more incredible still -- to keep American children from being recruited to homosexuality in their classrooms.”
The George W. Bush "victory" in the 2000 election. The list of books that Sarah Palin allegedly banned from the Wasilla Public Library. The persistent rumor that her youngest son was actually her daughter's child. The allegations of Barack Obama's foreign birth, terrorist associations, reverse racism, and socialist tendencies -- first promulgated to prevent his presidency, later used to derail it.
How many and how much have we lost in the seemingly endless War on Terror, triggered by the fictional connection between Saddam Hussein and the 9/11 attacks? The phrase "Weapons of Mass Destruction," invented as a cry for war, has become shorthand for cynical political manipulation and the mass, willful suspension of disbelief.
President Obama's efforts to provide Americans with health care were nearly defeated by the myth that if the program were enacted, "death panels" run by government bureaucrats would decide whether Granny lives or dies.
Gay people's right to marry (my right to marry) is still being denied in most of the "united" states, ostensibly to protect the heterosexual nuclear family from destruction, and -- wait, it gets more incredible still -- to keep American children from being recruited to homosexuality in their classrooms.”
OMG! Look how many liberal values are in that excerpt! Friends, if she was wrong about the molestation issue and if she admits to being caught up in a “herd mentality” when she was out writing about it, then who’s to say that she isn’t caught up in that same herd mentality now with the views she holds above? And again, I am personally familiar with liberal herd mentality. In my mind, this excerpt throws the whole focus of the issue in the book from one of personal remorse and regret over a past sin to yet another attempt to stump for liberal causes. In light of that, it makes me question whether she really is remorseful over what she did to her father. Yes, I know the book is supposed to be about her admission of guilt. But if that’s the case, then why even bring in these liberal causes?
Why not just stick to the script? Why go off into this ideological tangent? It’s because she is a true “liberal sheep”, and such people can’t help themselves. Such people aren’t capable of preventing themselves from “stumping for the cause” whenever they write about anything, even if it’s a recipe for biscuits. So Maran’s book is indeed enlightening and eye-opening; just not in the way that she thinks. It also proves to me once again why I abandoned the liberal “faith of my father” for greener intellectual pastures. To think that I could have been one of them! It still makes me shudder thinking about how close I came!
2 comments:
Small quibble about stem cell research:
Embryonic stem cell research takes embryonic stem cells. There aren't many of those left, and most of those are kept to ensure the lines continue.
The problem with the debate about embryonic stem cells is that people think that more embryos would die if its legalized. Embryos already die! But somehow, there isn't nearly as much uproar over fertility clinics. Fertility clinics operate by making tons and tons of embryos so that a viable few can be found. What do you think happens to the defects?
Other than that, sheep is right. I will admit to being moderately liberal, but I at least try to think of consequences.
Daniel,
Last point first: To a degree, I think most liberal sheep don't consider the consequences of their thinking or their actions, but I think the problem is more that they believe in different consequences than what logic or reason will bear out. For instance, the liberal sheep seem to believe that if we just keep trying to appease and placate those that hate us (and I don't mean just terrorists here), then they'll love us and everything will be hunky-dorey. Instead what often happens is that not only do they still hate us, but they also lose respect for us.
As for embryonic stem cells (ESCs) in fertility clinics, that is an issue that we as a society will still need to resolve, but I don't think that turning their embryos over to embryonic stem cell researchers is the answer. If ESCs don't work, then they don't work, whether the researchers test them ten times or a million times. I say that if we have other, non-controversial stem cells that DO work, then why not devote our precious limited research funds to them?
To continue to give to ESC research is to continue to fund a fool's errand, and isn't it said that to keep doing the same thing and expecting a different result each time is the very definition of insanity? So why keep funding insanity when we have alternatives to ESCs that work? And with Orwellian Obamacare on the horizon, we should divert our research funds to helping to find cures so that we won't have to rely so much on a health "care" program designed to enrich politicians than to help patients.
And yes, as you can see, I have no faith in Obamacare. :-)
Thanks for your response, Daniel! It really made me think!
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