Stupid Things You Hear All the Time #19

"We're going to take the political process out of the hands of special interests."

Politics is NOTHING OTHER THAN a competition between special interests.

When a politician says this line, what he means is: We're going to take the political process out of the hands of those special interests that we all dislike and which therefore deserve to be labeled special interests. The agendas we here all share are not special interests; they are good and right actions that will improve the country and the world.

It's the old self-delusion that gets reflected in our use of language. I believe myself to be "compassionate" simply because I feel compassion for those specific people that I feel deserve compassion. If I act cruelly toward other kinds of people, it does not occur to me that it shows a lack of compassion.

I believe myself to be fair and just simply because I desire fair and just treatment for those specific people that I think deserve it.

I call someone else "greedy" because he or she makes decisions based on financial desires - that are different from the decisions I make based on financial desires.

A man once said to me, "We should oppose runaway global capitalism." I said, "Should we oppose it because it is "runaway," because its "global," or because it's "capitalism." He answered, "All three." Then I said, "But yesterday, you were telling me that you support global environmental controls. Is that not a form of globalism?"

"Yes," he said. But that's not runaway GREED."

"So it's greed you think we should oppose."

"Yes."

"Then why didn't you say so in the first place? Do you oppose greed even when it comes in non-capitalist forms?"

"I know of no such case."

Right! And therein lies the problem, and the self-deception. Perhaps it would be best to join a reasonable dialog with those who disagree with you. Maybe a more important issue than either environmentalism or capitalism is willful, arrogant ignorance.