small mindedness

One of the guest writers over at TPM finally brings up one of the more important points of the right-wing talk radio and FoxNews revolution:

Why on Earth should anybody confine their reading to those writers with whom they agree on everything? The best way to learn is to read arguments you disagree with.

That’s precisely the reason buffoons like Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly are on the air, people like to have their narrow-minded talking points reinforced to the point they have to be true.
And this quote gives a nice little window into the “high minded, hoity-toityness” that Rush and Bill like to pin on the Democrats:

if you spurn it or any other voice solely on ideological grounds, you’re dooming yourself to small-mindedness. Sorry to get preachy. I just find this mentality baffling.

It’s fine to stand outside the debate and say “I’m not going to lower myself to your level of thinking” but when the other side spins that back as “See, they think they are better than you, you’re just a bunch of dumb rednecks and religious nuts to them”, you’ve got to do something.

And, now, Harry Shearer, of The Simpsons and Spinal Tap is taking over TPM for a few days.

One thought on “small mindedness

  1. This goes for any position, right, left, or middle. This is why I
    sometimes take positions I may not agree with in order to spur a
    spirited debate or dialogue.

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