posted on Sep, 22 2006 @ 07:30 PM
Originally posted by WestPoint23
I have doubts those exact words were used but I don't have a doubt that the message wasn't the same regardless, and I'm all for it, it worked.
Not really a surprise that you should be weighing in on the side of thuggishness.
The USG also threatened to "flush Ireland's economy down the toilet" if they didn't allow Shannon airport to be used as a staging/refuelling post
preparing for the Iraq war. No doubt that was justified too in your eyes.
John Dean - former Nixon counsel - has an interesting book out called
Conservatives Without Consciences which I think sums up a lot of what I
see on this board. His thesis is that the Right in the US is becoming authoritairan, rather than conservative.
Acording to his findings, a vast majority of Conservatives are drawn into the Leader/Follower archetype, where the Leaders are considered
infallable, and the loyalty of the Followers is completely unshakable. About "23% of the populace falls into the follower category" said Dean.
"These people are impervious" to fact, rationality and reality. And their "Numbers are growing".
There's a review, plus links to a video and transcript of an interview with Dean,
here.
Authoritairan personalities display the following tendencies (derived from Adorno, this is not a complete list) -
source:
[1]Conventionalism -- the tendency to accept and obey social conventions and the rules of authority figures; adherence to the traditional and
accepted
[2]Authoritarian Submission -- submission to authorities and authority figures
[3]Authoritarian Aggression -- an aggressive attitude towards individuals or groups disliked by authorities; particularly those who threaten
traditional values
[4]Anti-Intraception -- rejection of the subjective, imaginative and aesthetic
[5]Substitution and Stereotypy -- superstition, cliché, categorization and fatalistic determinism
[6]Power and Toughness -- identification with those in power, excessive emphasis on socially advocated ego qualities
[7]Destructiveness and Cynicism -- general hostility, putting others down
In an article on Right Wing Authoritarianism (
source) there's a fascinating list
of the problems that such personalities are likely to cause, and it's like a roll-call of the faults of the Bush administration. But bullying and
fact-blindness, with a healthy dose of hypocrisy and self-righteousness, are the bottom line.
It could be a portrait of Dubya and his cohorts.
[edit on 22-9-2006 by rich23]
[edit on 22-9-2006 by rich23]