Improper Criticism
Posted in Politics by George
With the President’s approval ratings as low as the likelihood that I will buy a Hummer, many people have publicly proclaimed their distaste with the administration or the man himself. There are many valid reasons to do so, such as for the purpose of opposing the way certain issues are being handled. A proper way to criticize the president, for example, would be: “I oppose the fact that the President vetoed stem cell legislation because of x, y and z.” However, many people do not do this. One of the most common criticisms of President Bush today is that he is “stupid,” or something along those lines.
Calling someone stupid infuriates people on the other side of the debate. It makes you look like you have no better ammunition at the time than name calling. To me, there’s no easier way to present yourself as stupid yourself then to resort to using a grade school insult in political debate.
It’s true that our president may not be the smartest man in the world. Heck, maybe even YOU have a higher IQ than he. However, he did get an MBA, which from what I hear is pretty darned hard. It also may be true that he had some help in politics thanks to having a dad who was a pretty famous politician. However, he still went through the process of campaigning and getting an entire political party to stand behind him when he ran for the office of president. Can you do that without a brain? I don’t think so.
[I'd also like to point out the irony of people who aren't so smart themselves calling Mr. Bush stupid. If you're not so smart, perhaps you should look at yourself before insulting the intelligence of others.]
I am not a fan of the majority of Mr. Bush’s policies, as frequent readers of gimme-five know. However, I am not going to stoop to the level of calling him “stupid,” because that isn’t productive at all. Let’s keep political debate civil, mature, and precise.
July 30th, 2006 at 7:13 pm
hm…fact checking on whitehouse.gov leads to the correction that pres. bush got an MBA from harvard, not a law degree…
that being said, there is a difference between “smart” people in the book and academic sense don’t necessarily make for “smart” people of the street sense. Not that “W” is really either… what is definitely a sore spot for most academics or even regular citizens is the idea that the commander in chief should be the most capable, most intelligent guy. We are starting to see that this is not really the case.
Its annoying that it is not really a man at the top making decisions, with assistance when he needs it. Nowadays, it is the cabinet, advisors, party members, and even contributors being the puppeteers…
not that the alternative wasn’t riding on coattails either…perhaps it is just that things are being ridiculously complex and interrelated as well as increasingly transparent…
July 30th, 2006 at 10:33 pm
Whoops thanks Jon, I have made the correction. I don’t know why I’ve always thought he had a law degree.
I agree that the Prez should be the most capable person, and I’m not happy about having W as our current president, but I still don’t think that people should call him “stupid” in debate. I guess you’re not arguing that point, but I agree with most of what you’re saying.
August 1st, 2006 at 5:04 pm
Most people don’t willingly enage in a conversaion with someone they consider “stupid” for several reasons.
1. It’s a waste of time because generally you’re not going to change a stupid person’s mind, and
2. Because it’s unseemly to be smart and be insulting a stupid person — it puts into question your own “smarts”.
However, as much as we want to avoid interacting with stupid people, sometimes you can’t avoid it because they have a huge influence on your life. If your boss was stupid maybe you’d leave the job and go somewhere better. But when the president is stupid, what are you going to do? Leave the country? Not likely.
So it’s a matter of frustration and in the case of the president, it’s a way of distinguishing his policies from your own.
This administration has proven that there is no dialogue with them, so we might as well just shout obscenities at them. I know it makes me feel better.