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Jan. 18th, 2007 03:56 pmSo, not long ago, the White House was reaching out to Congressional Democrats and saying, "It's time to set aside politics and focus on the future."
Now, of course, they are calling dissenters (who are only calling for symbolic non-binding dissent, not even real dissent) traitors and terrorists. "What message does Congress intend to give?" asked White House spokesman Tony Snow. "And who does it think the audience is? Is the audience merely the president? Is it the voting American public or, in an age of instant communication, is it also al-Qaida?"
But this is typical though of bullies who call for rational dialogue. They don't want to be called dividers or bigots or homophobic, because that drags down the tone of dialogue. We should instead "raise the quality of the dialogue" (in the words of the spokesman for VoteOnMarriage.org). And yet, well, see for yourself the obstacles to this (this from the chairman of VoteOnMarriage.org):
Frankly, i don't think anyone willing to say something like this deserves any of our attention. We don't owe them anything. We don't owe them a defense of our needs, we don't owe them a response, we don't owe them acknowledgement. We should take our case directly to our family and friends, to the public, to the legislators, to the media, to the leaders of business, and not engage bullies in dialogue. They will insist on setting the tone every time, and it is a total waste of our energy.
Now, of course, they are calling dissenters (who are only calling for symbolic non-binding dissent, not even real dissent) traitors and terrorists. "What message does Congress intend to give?" asked White House spokesman Tony Snow. "And who does it think the audience is? Is the audience merely the president? Is it the voting American public or, in an age of instant communication, is it also al-Qaida?"
But this is typical though of bullies who call for rational dialogue. They don't want to be called dividers or bigots or homophobic, because that drags down the tone of dialogue. We should instead "raise the quality of the dialogue" (in the words of the spokesman for VoteOnMarriage.org). And yet, well, see for yourself the obstacles to this (this from the chairman of VoteOnMarriage.org):
Is it exaggerated to see prophetic significance in the fact that on September 11, 2001 Boston served as the point of departure for the deadly forces that spread so much destruction and havoc in this nation and all over the world? What took place at the material level is now being carried out at the moral and spiritual level, as the virus of homosexuality and gay marriage begins to spread dramatically all over this nation and perhaps the world.
Frankly, i don't think anyone willing to say something like this deserves any of our attention. We don't owe them anything. We don't owe them a defense of our needs, we don't owe them a response, we don't owe them acknowledgement. We should take our case directly to our family and friends, to the public, to the legislators, to the media, to the leaders of business, and not engage bullies in dialogue. They will insist on setting the tone every time, and it is a total waste of our energy.
