The BEAST : 50 Most Loathsome People in America, 2007
I found this article in the blog-o-sphere and enjoyed their take on #9. It’s a bit more pessimistic (and downright mean) than my usual fair, but I think it makes some good points. After all, we (s)elected the #1 most loathsome person.
9. You
Charges: You believe in freedom of speech, until someone says something that offends you. You suddenly give a damn about border integrity, because the automated voice system at your pharmacy asked you to press 9 for Spanish. You cling to every scrap of bullshit you can find to support your ludicrous belief system, and reject all empirical evidence to the contrary. You know the difference between patriotism and nationalism — it’s nationalism when foreigners do it. You hate anyone who seems smarter than you. You care more about zygotes than actual people. You love to blame people for their misfortunes, even if it means screwing yourself over. You still think Republicans favor limited government. Your knowledge of politics and government are dwarfed by your concern for Britney Spears’ children. You think buying Chinese goods stimulates our economy. You think you’re going to get universal health care. You tolerate the phrase “enhanced interrogation techniques.” You think the government is actually trying to improve education. You think watching CNN makes you smarter. You think two parties is enough. You can’t spell. You think $9 trillion in debt is manageable. You believe in an afterlife for the sole reason that you don’t want to die. You think lowering taxes raises revenue. You think the economy’s doing well. You’re an idiot.
Exhibit A: You couldn’t get enough Anna Nicole Smith coverage.
Sentence: A gradual decline into abject poverty as you continue to vote against your own self-interest. Death by an easily treated disorder that your health insurance doesn’t cover. You deserve it, chump.
So there’s [one person's take] on what’s wrong with the masses. So how do we improve? Well, I’m glad you asked.
- Improve education! Yes, it’s a standard response. But we desperately need a stronger education system. The first thing I would change is to eliminate or radically modify the tenure system for teachers. With all due respect to my friends in the profession, I think it’s absurd that you’re virtually untouchable after just three years of teaching. In my job, I need to continually improve or I will be unemployed. Why do we treat teachers differently?
- Build strong communities! This one is a little trickier, because it runs counter to the popular concept of endless suburban sprawl. I fundamentally believe that it is impossible to foster vibrant, strong, diverse communities in low density suburban housing developments. We need to build (and zone) cities to offer mixed income, multi-use, walkable neighborhoods.
- Get the money out of politics! John McCain and Russ Feingold tried to reduce the influence of money in elections, but there is much more work to be done. Until we can fix the inner workings of our democracy to empower people and not lobbyists, we will never have a satisfied electorate. (Or, for that matter, a balanced budget!)
So there’s my take on what we can do to make get YOU off the 2008 list of the most loathsome people. What’s your take?
Filed under culture, education, politics : Comments (3) : Dec 28th, 2007 by tadfad
December 29th, 2007 at 7:40 pm
A change in politics I would love to see (but will never happen) is the elimination of all parties. People often judge people based on the R or D next to there name before they hear what they have to say. The parties also force politicians into supporting issues that they disagree with in order to stay within the parties values.
December 29th, 2007 at 7:42 pm
oops… the there is supposed to be their. my bad.
January 2nd, 2008 at 11:09 pm
I couldn’t agree more with you, Romsa. The über-powerful Parties force politicians into representing very narrowly defined policies. Unlike most other democracies, we in the US seem unable to foster strong 3rd (and 4th and 5th. . . ) parties.