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Offline Rebel

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Question Insanity: What to Ask Progressives
« on: December 28, 2010, 04:42:50 PM »
Hat tip to MileHighBronco at ncaabbs.com

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by Oleg Atbashian

The two women who showed up early for my book signing at a small bookstore in Houston, TX, never even bothered to open my book. Wearing knowing smiles, they engaged me in a bizarre discussion that wound up leaping all around the known and unknown universe. They hadn’t the slightest curiosity about my ideas as an ex-Soviet immigrant in America, or what I had to say about my experience working inside the two ideologically opposed systems. As it turned out, they had spotted my flyer in the store window the day before, and the book’s title — Shakedown Socialism — had enraged them so much that they decided to return the following day and give me a piece of their collective mind.

Their act almost made me feel as if I were back in the USSR, where the harassment of people with my opinions was the norm.

...

I remembered an old trick invented in the fifth century B.C. by Socrates. Instead of telling people what he thought was true, Socrates asked seemingly simple questions that put his opponents on the path of finding the truth for themselves. Seeking genuine knowledge rather than mere victory in an argument, Socrates used his questions to cross-examine the hypotheses, assumptions, and axioms that subconsciously shaped the opinions of his opponents, drawing out the contradictions and inconsistencies they relied on.

As the two women faced my questions, their knowing smiles turned to scowls. Sometimes they would backtrack and correct their previous statements; sometimes, they would angrily storm out of the room in the manner of Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg on The View with Bill O’Reilly. After a while they would return with more talking points, and then they had to answer another logical question. My friends who witnessed the scene told me later they saw the shorter bully beginning to foam at the mouth.

When asked later to write down his questions, he said he couldn't remember all of them but made a list. 

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She insisted that I write them down to share with her audience. As I did so, more questions began to pop up. Some were new, while others I had been asking for years while trying to make sense of my American experience. The resulting list may not exactly fit the definition of Socratic questioning. But in my defense, even Socrates couldn’t possibly envision the scale of absurdity a political argument could reach in the 21st century.

Dear Americans,  these are some questions I have collected in 16 years of living in your country. Please see if you can answer them for me:[/b]

(These are just a few of my favorites - the list is long).

- If all cultures are equal, why doesn’t UNESCO organize International Cannibalism Week festivals?

- Why has no politician ever run on men’s issues or promised to improve the lives of males?

- If all beliefs are equally valid, how come my belief in the absurdity of this maxim gets rejected by its proponents?

- If a politician gets elected by the poor on a promise to eliminate poverty, wouldn’t fulfilling his promise destroy his voting base? Wouldn’t he rather benefit from the growing numbers of poor people? Isn’t this an obvious conflict of interests?

- Why weren’t there demonstrations with anti-feudal slogans under feudal rule? And under Stalin, no anti-communist demonstrations? And under Hitler, no anti-fascist demonstrations? In a free capitalist society, anti-capitalist demonstrations are commonplace. Is capitalism really the worst system?

- If capitalism makes some people rich without making others poor, who will benefit when capitalism is destroyed?

- If diversity training benefits everyone, why do those classes mostly consist of white heterosexual males?

- Why does Hollywood glamorize drug addicts, criminals, liberal Democrats, and mentally challenged people? What do they all have in common?

- How come Hollywood can always find a good side in thugs, but never in businesspeople? What was the last movie that pictured a self-reliant, industrious man as a role model?

- If there are no absolutes and family is an antiquated tool of bourgeois oppression, why is having gay marriage an absolute must?

- How come the unselfish Americans hate their country out of personal frustrations, while the selfish ones defend America with their lives?

- If Hollywood types are so opposed to capitalism, why is there a warning against unauthorized distribution of their movies?

- Why do those who object to tampering with the environment approve of tampering with the economy? Isn’t the economy also a fragile ecosystem where a sudden change can trigger a devastating chain reaction?

- Isn’t the latest economic crisis such a chain reaction?

- Why is bioengineering bad, but social engineering good?

- If being a winner in nature’s struggle for survival is selfish, does being extinct make you an altruist?

- How come those who hate humanity for its faults are called “humanists” but those who love humanity for its virtues are called “hate-mongers”?

- If economic ups and downs are natural cycles, why is the downturn always blamed on unbridled capitalism, but the upturn is the result of a wise leadership of a Democrat president?

- If all opinions are equal, how come a liberal who disagrees with a conservative is open-minded, but a conservative who disagrees with a liberal is a bigot?

- Why is there never a headline that says “Government program ends as its intended goal has been achieved”?

http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/question-insanity-what-to-ask-progressives/?singlepage=true
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There's a reason why patriotism is considered a conservative value. Watch a Tea Party rally and you'll see people proudly raising the American flag and showing pride in U.S. heroes such as Thomas Jefferson. Watch an OWS rally and you'll see people burning the American flag while showing pride in communist heroes such as Che Guevera. --Bob, from some news site

Offline thundley4

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Re: Question Insanity: What to Ask Progressives
« Reply #1 on: December 28, 2010, 05:10:35 PM »
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Why is there never a headline that says “Government program ends as its intended goal has been achieved”?

Has any government program ever ended? I can  think of a few, but they all have to do with military developments or NASA projects.
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Offline mamacags

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Re: Question Insanity: What to Ask Progressives
« Reply #2 on: December 28, 2010, 05:59:58 PM »
That is a great find! :cheersmate:
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Offline BattleHymn

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Re: Question Insanity: What to Ask Progressives
« Reply #3 on: December 28, 2010, 06:13:13 PM »
What a good read!  :cheersmate:

My favorite:

-If cutting out the middleman lowers the price, why are we paying the government to stand between us and the markets?
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Offline DixieBelle

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Re: Question Insanity: What to Ask Progressives
« Reply #4 on: December 28, 2010, 10:06:01 PM »
LOVE IT!!! I'm spreading it around too...
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No, my friends, there’s only one really progressive idea. And that is the idea of legally limiting the power of the government. That one genuinely liberal, genuinely progressive idea — the Why in 1776, the How in 1787 — is what needs to be conserved. We need to conserve that fundamentally liberal idea. That is why we are conservatives. --Bill Whittle

Offline Max

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Re: Question Insanity: What to Ask Progressives
« Reply #5 on: December 31, 2010, 09:29:12 PM »
 :clap:
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Offline Ballygrl

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Re: Question Insanity: What to Ask Progressives
« Reply #6 on: December 31, 2010, 10:31:41 PM »
Those questions were awesome!
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Offline seahorse513

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Re: Question Insanity: What to Ask Progressives
« Reply #7 on: January 03, 2011, 07:31:32 PM »
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If a politician gets elected by the poor on a promise to eliminate poverty, wouldn’t fulfilling his promise destroy his voting base? Wouldn’t he rather benefit from the growing numbers of poor people? Isn’t this an obvious conflict of interests?


Yeah, there would be no more freebies....These people would have to (gasp) work!! Imagine that??!!!Yet the liberal dems always seem to fall into that trap!!!
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Offline true_blood

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Re: Question Insanity: What to Ask Progressives
« Reply #8 on: January 03, 2011, 08:00:21 PM »
Awesome post! :cheersmate:
I like this one;  If capitalism makes some people rich without making others poor, who will benefit when capitalism is destroyed?
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Offline Varokhâr

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Re: Question Insanity: What to Ask Progressives
« Reply #9 on: January 04, 2011, 05:51:31 PM »
Leave it to someone who lived under the Soviets to expose the stupidity of modern leftists. Bravo!
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Offline BoltAction

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Re: Question Insanity: What to Ask Progressives
« Reply #10 on: March 01, 2011, 09:18:18 PM »
Those are awesome, I have my favorites to ask Liberals....

-If a tornado hit your home would you blame Bush?

-Is Al Franken patenting the pubic hair and Elmer's glue cure for baldness, or is he just keeping the idea to himself?

-Do you hate old ladies who say "god bless you" when you sneeze?

Funny post though :hyper:

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Offline Varokhâr

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Re: Question Insanity: What to Ask Progressives
« Reply #11 on: March 02, 2011, 03:51:41 AM »
Heck, is it even possible to talk to a "progressive"?  :banghead:
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