Apparently some people were a little irritated, even infuriated, by last week's column on expanding and intensifying the "Police Yourself" campaign. I so enjoyed the volume of hate mail from people who misread it. For awhile, I entertained the idea of just becoming a full-fledged political satirist.
Preview for next week: A swift solution and modest proposal to lower the costs of the war in Iraq would be for coalition soldiers to collect the bodies of the Iraqi insurgents, cook them and use them for food. Our troops had best get used to Shi'ite sandwiches and Sunni sausage; it looks like they might have to eat them for some time.
For those who didn't get the memo: I wasn't serious about my "suggestions."
Many people expressed shock that so many college students failed to recognize satire. I shared that thought at first until it occurred to me just how often we take something that someone says or does in jest and misinterpret it.
Last semester, I wrote a column against satirist and radio host Al Franken because he had "lied" in sending a letter to various government officials. It didn't dawn on me until some time after that the letter was clearly satire and was never written in the hopes of actually soliciting information or "tricking" anyone.
So while I could point the finger at those who didn't get my satire, I too am guilty.
It's easy to misread a piece of writing, a person, an event or an issue. Being wrong and making a mistake about something does not make one an idiot. It's only when you stick with your opinion regardless of new situations, facts, discoveries and arguments that you become an idiot. (I was flabbergasted with an e-mail from a guy who, after being enraged by my column, went to my Web site. He visited my 'heroes' section and couldn't understand how I could name people like John Lennon and other dissidents as heroes while I promoted fascism and censorship.)
That seems to happen a great deal in our society. It's essentially become taboo to change your mind or adjust your views. It's almost considered a sign of weakness when in fact it's the exact opposite.
Most people today like to marry their opinions; the ideas they possess become a part of who they are. What this cultural view results in is that we see people as their opinions instead of just as people. "Oh, you're a liberal!" as opposed to "Oh, many of the ideas you agree with are 'liberal.'" Hence, politics becomes personal. If someone does not like conservative/Christian/Muslim/socialist ideas, then they're not going to like you. They'll refuse to respect and listen to you.
So debates and discussions become more about "winning" and proving who has the larger intellectual penis than about actually trying to solve problems and improve the world.
"Compromise? Forget it! Why would we need to do something like that? It's for the weak! We have the biggest guns! The most money! The biggest penis! Screw everyone else, we're gonna win this thing!" It's a very American attitude, and it could very well be our downfall.
(On an unrelated note, be sure and visit www.airamericaradio.com and check out the satire of "The O'Franken Factor," weekdays from 11:00 to 2:00.)
Write to David at swimminginbrokenglass@yahoo.com
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