Thursday, March 31, 2005

t.s.r.i.p.

The Terri Schiavo story finally draws to a close.

I took no side in the "should-Terri-live-or-die" debate. I observed as various public figures exploited the woman, her family, and the passions of their constituents. I offered little commentary as the story played out. I watched some strange things happen all along.

What was learned from it all?

Well, as for me, I have already been through the dying-loved-one thing more times than a character from an Anne Rice novel, so there was no wisdom for me to glean from all that.

I can say this: I am constantly amazed, yet not surprised, by the depth of heartless, inconsiderate, vile exploitation to which the neocons will sink in their never-ending pursuit of offensive exploitation. Even a right-wing conservative judge told them that they went too far. The whole country seemed to engage in one nervous, grimacing sidelong glance as Uncle Neocon came to visit and barged in on a most intimate moment. The crass classlessness was so mortifying to the rest of us because we were actually embarrassed for them. Tom Delay, the lizard-faced moral compass for contemporary neoconservatism, took the opportunity to wage a campaign promoting hypocrisy. He won, and took his place in the hypocritical pantheon, next to you-know-who.

Lessons can be learned from tragedy. Little did the neocons suspect that in the midst of sadness and death, the most tragic thing was them.

4 comments:

SheaNC said...

I agree wholeheartedly. For a fistfull of money, they put any aspect of anyone's life on display.

Glen said...

Sheanc, I won't argue with you on the things you said about neocons. That doesn't mean I agree, but that I won't argue with you about it. I was wondering though, what you thought about the others on both sides who really did not have any type of political gain involved? Do you think that some of the people (not neo-cons, of course) were sincere in their beliefs? In the end, I don't think that anybody either was hurt or benefited from this issue. It was just way too complex and most people on either side could see why the other felt the way they did. Of course, there were a few extremist wackos, but then again there always is. As someone who has attacked Jesse Jackson every chance that he could and poked a lot of fun at Ralph Nader, I happen to believe that both of those men were sincere and I respect them for the couragous stance they took. Of course, that doesn't mean I will let up on the two in the future. But I will always respect their sincerity. But hey, I will probably attack you too. But as I hope you realize, I respect you also.

SheaNC said...

Thanks. I believe there were people involved, both sides, who were sincere in their beliefs. The main targets I wanted to skewer were the exploitative ones. Also, it seems to me that extraordinary government interference in this instance is contrary to the conservative/libertarian value of less government interference.

Keeping in mind that there were a lot of unqualified opinions out there, I certainly respect the right of those who proceed out of compassion for Ms. Schiavo. But the political figures involved seemed to view it as an opportunity to grandstand during a ready-made media moment (and like Will above said, they deserve much of the blame).

By the way, a future topic for us to debate: Neocons are NOT conservative. :)

Simon said...

Sheanc said: "Also, it seems to me that extraordinary government interference in this instance is contrary to the conservative/libertarian value of less government interference."

Well said. Hypocrisy once again, writ large. I've grown quite tired of the media and politicians (possibly one and the same) exploiting any old story to try to further their own agendas. And this comes at the expense of continuing to drive a wedge between the people of America... pathetic.

Hey, remember that little Illian kid from Cuba? How many people do you think will even know who Schiavo is in a few months - once the next big argument hits the street.

It's just marketing hate... very sad.