Ideological Idiocy

"Diversity" means whatever the left says it means, and minorities are only celebrated so long as they stay on the reservation

The whole Juan Williams controversy, and the illogical and hate-filled response from the left shows them to be in complete intellectual collapse.  There is no reasoning left on the left, just rage, outrage and raw emotion.  A dogmatic MSNBC mindset that anathematizes the impure who stray from the liberal orthodoxy.

It's an "us versus them" mentality.  Juan's cardinal sin was to treat conservatives as worthy of debate instead of just smearing them from a safe distance.  And he had the temerity to do it on the hated "Faux Nooz!"  For this same reason, liberal atheist Christopher Hitchens has more fans on the right than on the left, all because he cogently critiques militant Islam.

A Diversity of Thought
We enjoy a diversity of thought on the right; the left chokes with rage on it.  We may not agree with Juan Williams, Bob Beckel, Kirsten Powers or the other liberals who routinely appear on FOX news, but we enjoy the debate.  They add clarity to our thought, as fire hardens steel.  And we even learn something every now and then.  For this we will only grow stronger as our friends on the left suffer a rigor mortis of rationality.

We on the right are now much more about thought, debate and exploring new ideas.  We've dropped our knee-jerk support for big business and big wars.  We don't foam at the mouth in rabid anger like the left does, but we now criticize crony capitalism and Wall Street gamblers flush with our tax dollars.  We're also tiring of military adventures and we have awoken to the the dangers of our burgeoning domestic security apparatus. 

Ideology Kills
Blind allegiance to ideology kills rational thought, and that is what we're seeing on the left.  Daniel J. Flynn, in his most excellent book Intellectual Morons , explains:  

"ideology acts as a mental straitjacket. It blinds adherents to reality, breeds fanaticism, and rationalizes dishonesty. It makes smart people stupid."

Ideology can be a mental framework to make sense of what's going on around you, but Flynn sees it more as a crutch for those too lazy to think for themselves. Reading the opening chapter slowly and thoughtfully can provide a good intellectual self-examination.

The main idea behind Intellectual Morons is that ideology acts as a mental straitjacket. It blinds adherents to reality, breeds fanaticism, and rationalizes dishonesty. It makes smart people stupid.

It doesn’t matter how intelligent you are if you don’t use your brain. Intelligent people aren’t necessarily rigorous thinkers. In fact, many of them are mentally lazy. Ideology provides a way for lazy people to respond to issues, ideas, people, and events without thinking.

For the ideologue, ideology is the Rosetta Stone of everything. Why think when the system provides all the answers? Ideology is attractive to smart people because it flatters them by suggesting that a single idea from the mind of an intellectual has the power of explaining all of history or ordering the affairs of whole nations. No person is that smart; no idea that good. (Front Page - Interview)

"Intellectual Morons" is a storehouse of of ammo for those who enjoy arguing with liberals.  More importantly, it is a useful springboard to an intellectual self-examination.    It also explains why modern-day American liberalism is a rotting carcass.  They cling to their dogma and purge their ranks; we on the right invite thinking liberals to the debate.

Links:
Western Hero - Read These Books Now!
Western Hero - Intellectual Morons
Western Hero - Great Books

Intellectual Morons

I just finished reading Intellectual Morons by Daniel J. Flynn and I highly recommend it. The title is unfortunate, suggesting a Coulteresque screed instead of the scholarly but breezy read that it is.

"ideology acts as a mental straitjacket. It blinds adherents to reality, breeds fanaticism, and rationalizes dishonesty. It makes smart people stupid."

Flynn covers much of the same ground Jack Cashill covers in Hoodwinked, but from a slightly different angle, making both books essential reading. What distinguishes this book is the treatment of ideology: Flynn leads off with a thought-provoking chapter on the subject, and it is a thread that runs through the book.

Do You Use Ideology as a Crutch?
Ideology can be a mental framework to make sense of what's going on around you, but Flynn sees it is more as a crutch for those too lazy to think for themselves.  Reading the opening chapter slowly and thoughtfully can provide a good intellectual self-examination.

The main idea behind Intellectual Morons is that ideology acts as a mental straitjacket. It blinds adherents to reality, breeds fanaticism, and rationalizes dishonesty. It makes smart people stupid.

It doesn’t matter how intelligent you are if you don’t use your brain. Intelligent people aren’t necessarily rigorous thinkers. In fact, many of them are mentally lazy. Ideology provides a way for lazy people to respond to issues, ideas, people, and events without thinking.

For the ideologue, ideology is the Rosetta Stone of everything. Why think when the system provides all the answers? Ideology is attractive to smart people because it flatters them by suggesting that a single idea from the mind of an intellectual has the power of explaining all of history or ordering the affairs of whole nations. No person is that smart; no idea that good. (Front Page - Interview)

My conservative friends are nodding their heads, thinking "oh yeah!"

But wait!  He goes after Ayn Rand, Objectivism, and those dreaded neocons as well, attacking not so much the adherents as the intellectual authors. It doesn't offend me because I am a fan of neither ideology, but even so, it is healthy to hear some reasoned criticism of one's sacred cows.

Neocons and Randites can still find much to love in the book.  He saves the vast majority of his firepower for the likes of Planned Parenthood, Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, PETA, radical environmentalists and postmodernists.

Intellectual Morons is a storehouse of of ammo for those who enjoy arguing with liberals.  More importantly, it is a useful springboard to an intellectual self-examination.  

Are you an ideologue or an independent thinker?