Re: [UC] Greenwald on ad hominem, Guardian

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 12:46:23 -0700



"Very nicely put! I feel inspired"

 

Yes, it's good to talk with you publicly about this.  With the swirling mass of nonsense and terrible misery around the planet, it's important for all of us to remember that we humans have tremendous goodness and possibilities somewhere inside of all of us. This was the teaching of buddha, jesus, and many others. We aren't inherintly evil, but we have learned to do evil and ignore it.  If evil is actually consturcted in the world, we need to be inspired to deconstruct it, and optimistic that radical systemic changes could let us live up to our true potential as humans living together.  I whole heartedly believe that!

 

 

But if we're going to live closely in civilization beyond isolated tribal affiliations, the study of ethics and literary criticism are the most important fields of study for all citizens!  These disciplines have been attacked as useless and threats to power abuse, my entire adult lifetime!  What I describe as mass insanity, I believe, is enabled by our societal ignorance or amnesia about the building blocks for justice and equality.

 

It's essential that we remain courageous and speak out against deception and manipulation, whatever the personal costs.  In the midst of omnipresent gladitorial combat, we need to shine the light on processes, ethics, etc. and reject the demands of the culture of spectacle and combat.  

 

Right here in the neighborhood, we saw how basic foundational principles of democracy, transparency and inclusion of all, were denied without debate (via fallacies of logic, voyuerism, and fear), and turned into a bizarre spectacle. We are paying the prices in many ways.  I made lots of mistakes fighting this tide and suffered too, but I'm glad I never stopped trying!   

 

Power to the people!

Glenn

PS:  Pray for Julian, Bradley, Aaron, Leonard and the two million Americans in prisons

 

 

 
-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Conrad
Sent: Mar 29, 2013 12:21 PM
To: Glenn moyer
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [UC] Greenwald on ad hominem, Guardian

Very nicely put!  I feel inspired.
On Mar 29, 2013, at 9:53 AM, Glenn moyer wrote:
"profound critics often agree but joust and fight for personal positions, not seeking agreements as much as victories. Could both aggressive dismissing and coalescing be in our genes?"

 

That's precisely what corporate media insists as an absolute truth-endless, ruthless competition as the only human nature.  But, I believe huuman nature allows a great range of possibilities.

 

In the mass insanity we've embraced, we believe there is something natural about the propaganda and distractions we're fed by the competition we view in the powerful corporate media.  We don't watch news, for example, we watch brands, largely keeping the masses equally divided as Republicans and Democrats. With their screaming pundits, they keep us equally balanced, as partisan supporters, while using issues and priorities designed to keep us distracted from the big targets and at each otherrs throats.

 

It's easy to see victory as the only principle, when you get caught up in the mass insanity surrounding us.  Yes, I think it's in the range of human possibilities to be driven for victories at all costs and we watch it on TV, but I strongly believe it is primarily learned behavior, and that there is another completely natural, and stronger pull, toward human cooperation.

 

But I don't think it stands a chance as long as we allow deception and power to make truth and reconciliation impossible. 

 

That takes us back to Greenwald's analysis.  It's vital that assiduous citizens learn to see logical fallacies like ad hominem.  When people are denied the truth and power imbalances make debate and discussion impossible, people need to recognize that the disempowered side has not been refuted so much as beaten.  Too often, people are brain washed to judge those engagements as if they were "fair fights" like a football match.  The very idea of logical fallacies is therein nulliified!!!  (Greenwald's point: The powerful propaganda wins without ever being refuted!)

 

Best,
Glenn 

 

 
-----Original Message----- 
From: Richard Conrad 
Sent: Mar 28, 2013 10:19 PM 
To: Glenn moyer 
Cc: [email protected] 
Subject: Re: [UC] Greenwald on ad hominem, Guardian 

That and health of community issues you have been citing; responsibility issues and questions, fairness concerns, etc.
though I find that behind your back and when not feeling they are in competition, profound critics often agree but joust and fight for personal positions, not seeking agreements as much as victories.  Could both aggressive dismissing and coalescing be in our genes?

On Mar 27, 2013, at 7:58 AM, Glenn moyer wrote:

From the Guardian:

"One very common tactic for enforcing political orthodoxies is to malign the character, "style" and even mental health of those who challenge them. The most extreme version of this was an old Soviet favorite: to declare political dissidents mentally ill and put them in hospitals..."


"...But what is at play here is this destructive dynamic that the more one dissents from political orthodoxies, the more personalized, style-focused and substance-free the attacks become. That's because once someone becomes sufficiently critical of establishment pieties, the goal is not merely to dispute their claims but to silence them. That's accomplished by demonizing the person on personality and style grounds to the point where huge numbers of people decide that nothing they say should even be considered, let alone accepted. It's a sorry and anti-intellectual tactic, to be sure, but a brutally effective one"

 

 

Everyday, there are important specific issues to bring to an informed citizenry in the neighborhood.  So why is this Glenn Greenwald analysis the most important topic for people to consider here in the upscale UCD village?  Why are neighbors so terrified to engage in meaningful discussion about the power structures transforming the neighborhood, city , and country into an inverted totalitarian corporate state???  Is it only the censorship exemplified by UCneighbors, founded by the University of Pennsylvannia, which causes the silence of locals?

 

I remember finding it amazing that neighbors would silently watch me face year's of personal attacks, while "community leaders" would never ever refute the truths I brought to the public!

 

 

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