Monday, July 26, 2004
RCIA tonight, right during the best speeches at the DNC convention. Carter, Gore, Clinton. The buzz is that the Kerry campaign is asking everyone to stop attacking Bush as a liar, as a betrayer of the people, as a stupid idiot. Why, because it's apparent to everyone that though this rallies the base, it turns off those who yet have open minds.
Why, though.... why does such rhetoric rally the Democrat base? When Al Gore says that George W. Bush promised us humility but brought us humilation in the eyes of the world, when Democrats in Congress formally request the United Nations to monitor the U.S. Elections so that 2004 can't be stolen like 2000, when members of Congress attend the premier of Michael Moore's F9/11 and pretend to believe the utter falsehoods on the screen... when John Kerry says he doesn't have to see the movie because he's lived it (implying that he's suffered through four years of President Bush's lies and war mongering and cheating)... the chant of betrayal, lies, hatred and evil against Bush are repeated by Howard Dean, actors and musicians, the NAACP and many more of those on the Left of the political spectrum.
There is an implied emptiness being filled by rhetoric such as this, this is why such rhetoric falls so poorly on the ears of the undecided who do not have the same emptiness. The challenge for the Democrats at their convention is that almost everyone on the floor wants to hear that hatred, want to join in the bashing, want that emptiness inside of them filled... but doing so will turn off the rest of the nation.
On Sunday, our priest said there is a pit of emptiness inside every human being. He said it is the desire to be close to God. He said we can fill that pit with our lust or with money or with hate or any number of other types of desires, but it can only be completely filled when we are one with God. Can those thousands of delegates on the floor of the convention control their passion to fill that emptiness? When speech after speech avoids the very thing they looked forward most to hearing, can they remain happy and excited? Or will they begin chanting, seeking to fill that emptiness on their own.
We'll see.
Update: Gore to re-write speech
Why, though.... why does such rhetoric rally the Democrat base? When Al Gore says that George W. Bush promised us humility but brought us humilation in the eyes of the world, when Democrats in Congress formally request the United Nations to monitor the U.S. Elections so that 2004 can't be stolen like 2000, when members of Congress attend the premier of Michael Moore's F9/11 and pretend to believe the utter falsehoods on the screen... when John Kerry says he doesn't have to see the movie because he's lived it (implying that he's suffered through four years of President Bush's lies and war mongering and cheating)... the chant of betrayal, lies, hatred and evil against Bush are repeated by Howard Dean, actors and musicians, the NAACP and many more of those on the Left of the political spectrum.
There is an implied emptiness being filled by rhetoric such as this, this is why such rhetoric falls so poorly on the ears of the undecided who do not have the same emptiness. The challenge for the Democrats at their convention is that almost everyone on the floor wants to hear that hatred, want to join in the bashing, want that emptiness inside of them filled... but doing so will turn off the rest of the nation.
On Sunday, our priest said there is a pit of emptiness inside every human being. He said it is the desire to be close to God. He said we can fill that pit with our lust or with money or with hate or any number of other types of desires, but it can only be completely filled when we are one with God. Can those thousands of delegates on the floor of the convention control their passion to fill that emptiness? When speech after speech avoids the very thing they looked forward most to hearing, can they remain happy and excited? Or will they begin chanting, seeking to fill that emptiness on their own.
We'll see.
Update: Gore to re-write speech
