{"id":1262,"date":"2008-10-17T16:00:08","date_gmt":"2008-10-17T20:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.drslewis.org\/camille\/?p=1262"},"modified":"2013-01-21T12:51:56","modified_gmt":"2013-01-21T12:51:56","slug":"that-light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.drslewis.org\/camille\/2008\/10\/17\/that-light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel\/","title":{"rendered":"That Light at the End of the Tunnel is a Train!: My Politics Written Comps"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chickens can be taught that only one specific pitch [of a ringing bell] is a food-signal. . . . If one rings the bell next time, not to feed the chickens, but to assemble them for chopping off their heads, they come faithfully running, on the strength of the character which a ringing bell possesses for them. Chickens not so educated would have acted more wisely. Thus it will be seen that the devices by which we arrived at a correct orientation may be quite the same as those involved in an incorrect one.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Kenneth Burke, Permanence and Change<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Did you hear about the guy in NYC who was so closely following his car’s navigation system that he drove straight down a set of railroad tracks . . . right into an oncoming train<\/a>? No kidding! He and the passenger barely escaped by jumping out of the car.<\/p>\n

Piety can be a bad thing.<\/p>\n

Burke called it the difference between motion and action. Breathing is motion; sighing is action. The former is involuntary. The latter is intentional and meaningful. Burke explained further that while evolution described the evolving force as simply moving, creation centered on active, intentional God.<\/p>\n

You get the picture.<\/p>\n

Burke wanted us to act like humans, not move like chickens. Don’t follow the talking box in your car to your certain demise!<\/p>\n

And when it all comes down to it, I\u2019m pretty positive that that\u2019s why Republicans, specifically those on Christian Right, are so ticked right now. We had been going along, following what our pastors, Christian radio personalities, family, teachers were telling us: \u201cVote Republican. Don’t mess this up. Just vote Republican<\/em>. They get us. They understand. They are fighting for us. Just do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t act. Just move.<\/p>\n

And now we\u2019re face-to-face with the realization that we got PWNED<\/a>.<\/p>\n

John Whitehead<\/a> from the Rutherford Institute<\/a> is as blunt and accurate as you can be:<\/p>\n

Like moths flickering about a hot flame, the leaders of the Christian Right are eager to get close to political power. But as anyone who has played the game knows, politics is corrupt and manipulative. And the Christian Right was manipulated by the Bush Administration.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And we\u2019re processing the grief<\/a>. Deep down, nearly every reaction I\u2019ve got to my recent and public less-than-loyal-to-the-GOP comments can be described as denial<\/em><\/a> pure and simple. And to this participant in and student of American religious rhetoric, the reactions cluster around certain topoi<\/a>, all variations on the red herring<\/a> fallacy. So I give you:<\/p>\n

The Top Ten Campaign 2008 Fallacies from the Religious Right<\/strong><\/p>\n

(Dog Latin<\/a> gratis)<\/p>\n

“What about them?\u201d<\/em> <\/strong>Formal Name: Tu Quoque<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n