Sunday, May 16, 2010

Deprogramming The Kool Aid Kids. Part II

We previously mentioned our hopes to deprogram Obama supporters. We stated that some people are unsalvagable because they are unable or unwilling or incapable of changing their own political opinions. The pennant wavers and the sheep are not worth our time. Be polite to them. The pennant wavers are sometimes interesting people. Turn the topic away from politics and a good conversation might ensue. But run like hell from the Hope Dopes. Just say baaahhh.

Remember well that our political rivals fashioned a campaign based on anti-reason and as a result, they appealed to voters on an emotional basis. Whereas we select our political candidates in a manner in which we might select a major appliance, the Obots selected their choice in the same way they might select a lover, a surrogate parent, a pop star, or dare we say it, a messiah. They see it as a weakness that we don't hold the same passion for our choices that they held for theirs. In some cases they even project their own mental processes onto us. I saw an ACLU-related site that said the Tea Partiers were disgruntled Bush supporters. Not even close! But seen through their lens, it almost makes sense.

We have a hard time understanding their choices but they also have a hard time understanding ours. If you read this blog, you probably select political candidates in much the same way as you select major appliances. Dependability is big. Bells and whistles are nice but we want to put food in the Maytag and not concern ourself with spoilage. 38 degrees is 38 degrees. Frozen is frozen. No leaks. No surprises. No far reaching agenda that restrict our access to our chosen food or attempts to reprogram our other appliances to override our judgment for the higher good.

Our emotional relationship has more to do with the goods and values contained within our Maytag, than with the Maytag itself. Yes, our reliable behemoth might serve double duty as a showcase for artwork and reminders for podiatry appointments but we don't feel the need to display our appliance on our apparel and emblazon "Hope" above or beneath its image. Therein lies the difference.

Whereas we can respectfully disagree with the choices of the Whirlpool consumer and we can voice our differences without damaging our friendship, such is rarely the case with the Obot. We selected an appliance but they selected a loved one. They can bash McCain or Romney and we are not offended any more than if a critic took issue with our vegetable crisper or our egg slots. But don't expect the Obots to be so equanimous. Our barbs--no matter how objective or how well-founded-- will be received in the spirit of ill humor one might associate with an unfavorable critique of a girlfriend's virtue or a daughter's beauty (and in some cases vice versa.)Politics is personal.

So how do we deprogram the Kool Aid Kids? I'm not sure we can. But love, like fashion, is fickle. I know of old hippies who hide their wedding pictures from their children. Will a similar fate befall the O-Rings and the Hope posters? I suspect it might.

Let us be just slightly tangental and sing our praises for Eric Hoffer, the author of "The True Believer," one of the most important books I have ever read. Hoffer would remind us that today's Obot is tomorrow's Laroucheian. That from the throngs of the annointed shall rise spirited souls who will demand the truth about 9/11. And the display of bumper sticker veneration will accurately predict the future purchases of newly-printed copies of "Dianetics."

I have known quite a few people who sought counsel on matters of love but I don't know anyone who actually listened. There are some things that you just have to find out on your own. Perhaps it is better if we say nothing at all to the inflicted, for fear that we might harden their resolve. The bigger question might not be "how do we deprogram Obots," but rather "should we deprogram Obots?" After all, a useful idiot is only useful on election day. The rest of the time, he is just an idiot.

Structures built without a foundation of reason are but sand castles in the surf. The Obama edifice will wash away and the handlers will scurry to build a newer, fresher Obama. To most of us, Obama will always look pretty much the same. But to the true believer, it will be time to move on. The bloom will fall off the rose and there will be other deities to praise and other slogans to chant and other lanes to clog.

Time is on our side.

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