Haiku 081709

summer trip

i watch the windshield

collect bugs

***************
Recently, we read the following:

Huffington Post: “New Rule: Smart President ≠ Smart Country” Posted by Bill Maher

“New Rule: Just because a country elects a smart president doesn't make it a smart country. A few weeks ago I was asked by Wolf Blitzer if I thought Sarah Palin could get elected president, and I said I hope not, but I wouldn't put anything past this stupid country. It was amazing - in the minute or so between my calling America stupid and the end of the Cialis commercial, CNN was flooded with furious emails and the twits hit the fan... Worst of all, Bill O'Reilly refuted my contention that this is a stupid country by calling me a pinhead, which A) proves my point, and B) is really funny coming from a doody-face like him...

"And before I go about demonstrating how, sadly, easy it is to prove the dumbness dragging down our country, let me just say that ignorance has life and death consequences. On the eve of the Iraq War, 69% of Americans thought Saddam Hussein was personally involved in 9/11. Four years later, 34% still did. Or take the health care debate we're presently having: members of Congress have recessed now so they can go home and ‘listen to their constituents.’ An urge they should resist because their constituents don't know anything. At a recent town-hall meeting in South Carolina, a man stood up and told his Congressman to ‘keep your government hands off my Medicare,’ which is kind of like driving cross country to protest highways…

“Until we admit there are things we don't know, we can't even start asking the questions to find out. Until we admit that America can make a mistake, we can't stop the next one. A smart guy named Chesterton once said: ‘My country, right or wrong is a thing no patriot would ever think of saying... It is like saying 'My mother, drunk or sober.'’ To which most Americans would respond: ‘Are you calling my mother a drunk?’ “

***************

And we thought:

…Well, to be fair, we think Maher is only partially right about the “stupid country” part. A large majority of Americans in fact are more evolved than the people Maher describes in his post. Last elections, that greater number did see through McCain-Palin and what they stood for – and rejected them soundly. The bigots lost...

a contemporary haiku and current events blog. occasional notes on [and pokes at] nature and society. and some of their maddening stuff …like the economy finance capital mergers energy health care insurers jobs retirement politics government congress courts conflicts united nations human rights peace culture&society education alienation religion erving goffman artifacts history social change twitter scientific method sports travel environment wildlife carbon footprint global warming earth...