Patterico's Pontifications

11/27/2014

Happy Thanksgiving!

Filed under: General — Dana @ 9:00 am



[guest post by Dana]

Happy Thanksgiving, Patterico readers! I just put the bird in the oven (with fresh oranges and balsamic vinegar marinade). I hope your day is filled with the company of loved ones, great food, and lots of thankfulness. And may your gluttonous turkey coma in front of the big screen bring the pleasant agony that you’ve been dreaming about.

About that dinner: if you are inclined to break the established etiquette of not discussing religion or politics at the table, a number of sites are posting suggestion lists to help navigate the minefield. Funny, though, most are for dealing with your crazy right-wing relative (because what other kind of right-wing is there, right?) Or perhaps conservatives don’t need suggestion lists of how to respond to that crazy left-wing uncle who won’t shut-up about how there are no real borders because all of our friends south of the border of us need access to Obamacare! We already know what we believe and why we believe it. And we know that having an unforced, rational and congenial conversation that organically unfolds is no big shakes. We are not into shoving our conservative principles down anyone’s throat because we don’t have to: the value of conservatism which benefits everyone, speaks for itself.

With that, some columnists have tried to make an effort to appear even-handed in their advice:

Progressives, engage your conservative family members. Tell them you accept their apology for endlessly pounding the drum of Benghazi when even the Republican House now admits that there was nothing scandalous there. Reassure them that the president is wholly within his authority to defer deportations on 5 million undocumented immigrants — but encourage them to demonstrate really loudly against this executive action so that Democrats can win the Latino vote for a generation.

And conservatives, please, challenge your lefty family members. Boast proudly of your well-fought electoral victories this fall. Point out how, despite all its populist propaganda, the White House has still managed to deliver only full economic recovery for the country’s wealthiest, while everyone else struggles. Embarrass the liberals with jokes about the administration’s screw-ups on Obamacare, Iraq and the Veterans Administration. Encourage them to keep overreaching so that your party can take the White House in 2016.

Vox has some nifty advice cards of controversial issues that might arise. So if a hot-button issue like immigration comes up, just click on the immigration card and the reader will be advised on how to respond – from the Vox viewpoint.

National Review has a list of the eight most outrageous talking points liberals have posted to try to convert conservatives. Because being thankful one day out of the year for everyone’s guaranteed freedom to hold their own political views and be respectful of such is simply asking too much.

From Ace comes this spot-on insight about the left-leaning proselytizers:

So why is it so many of them seem to need these bluffer’s guides to explain to them why they believe the things they believe?

It doesn’t really make sense, does it? They’re anxious because they’re going to a Thanksgiving dinner where they won’t have an Automatic Affirmation Clap Circle applauding their poses and posturings, but instead might be asked things like “Where are you getting that claim from?”

And this produces in them a terrible anxiety — an anxiety disclosed by all these articles in their first paragraphs, which note the anxiety and fear before proposing a way to combat it.

But if they believe all these things so terribly fiercely, shouldn’t they already sorta know why they believe them?

It’s incredible, when you think about it — they go through the whole year believing in their progressive catechisms zealously but only bother to ask Why do we believe this progressive religious nonsense again? one single day of the year, the one single day of the year where they fear they might be questioned about their religious beliefs.

And because nothing smells more like teen spirit than two annoyed teenage girls having to be front and center with all eyes on them:

–Dana


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