Awhile back I began a post on Al Gore's shallow "reasoning" as seen in an excerpt from his book, The Assault on Reason, but never finished it. So I figured, too little too late.
Then I received this plea in the mail (dated simply, "Tuesday Morning"), from none other than Al Gore: "Help Restore Reason to Our Government." I read:
...This perverse political culture [12 years of a Republican-controlled Congress] -- dangerously hostile to reason and knowledge -- is what enabled George W. Bush to use fear and lies to mislead our nation into the Iraq war, ignore the threat of global warming, block promising stem-cell research and ignore the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
*sigh*
(Several times, he leaves out commas -- I guess proper use of commas isn't important. Or could he -- or his copyist -- possibly not know better?)
The letter is full of cliched rallying points and value judgments. His "facts" are, of course, mostly opinion. For example, this paragraph (put down your coffee, your Coke, or your white tea first):
For me, the most disturbing aspect of the Republican political culture is how it puts its unquenchable thirst for power, domination and a radical ideology above facts, reason, and the truth. On issue after issue, Republicans in Congress have replaced reason and debate with intimidation and fear mongering -- marching in lockstep with the Bush Administration and its destructive policies.
There it is. The world according to Garp Gore. In black and white, "black" meaning "bad" and "white" meaning "good": Democrats = white, Republicans = black. Al Gore = white, President Bush = black. Embryonic stem-cell research = white, adult stem-cell research = black. Etc.
Included in the mailing, along with a contribution form, is a handy little card entitled, "The Republican Assault on the Truth: Five Republican Myths that are Damaging America." (What was that about fear-mongering?) Myth #3:
Global warming, if it's occurring at all, is a naturally occurring phenomenon that requires further study before we can take any action.
And the corresponding Fact:
Mainstream scientists and the most prestigious international scientific organizations all agree that global warming is real and that we are the primary cause. If we act now, there is still time to reverse it.
(Note the authority given to the "mainstream" and the "prestigious," among other things.)
For more, you can visit the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) website.
I have no problem with people expressing their concerns, but to vilify the "opposition" unilaterally and monolithically ignores reality. I have no problem with honest disagreement, but calling one side of a controversial debate "fact" and the other "lies" and "fear-mongering" is just disingenuous. I could be wrong about Gore. Perhaps he's just...not very smart. I may not be, either, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the flaws in Gore's reasoning.
