One thing that I've learned from debating in this room is the penchant (for the dull, that's you Frenchy, that means tendency towards, or inclination towards) of certain people for complete and utter MOCK HORROR.I mean you have the entire exercise in black propaganda that has been the re-writing of the political spectrum so that Hitler is suddenly left wing. The only reason that the association between Hitler and the opposing political perspective, the left wing perspective, is made is to try and create HORROR, so that people will not THINK, or REASON, they will simply be HORRIFIED and the subject will be closed.
Gee once stated that the left wing thinkers on this debate forum where more interesting and rational than on others because they didn't lapse into alleging HORRORS perpetually, such as, the starving children or that's not fair so he should know what I'm talking about when he reads this, that the right wingers are more guilty than we are of this 'horror retail'.
It's essentially libellous rubbish, libel solves nothing it persuades no one of anything at all just consigns reason to the trash can, it's like two guys playing chess and one bounces up and shouts 'your a bigamist!! Damn your bigamy!!!' and the other responding 'your an arsonist!!! Damn your arson!!!' will the actions of these two influence the course of the game of chess? No, they may be ill tempered about it but the game must continue or just be left unfinished, unresolved.
Now there's a choice to be made we can accept the honesty of each other, accept that socialists, believing in a political perspective that has developed from a basic humanistic impulse, philosophy or notion which is affronted by the lack of human empathy inherent in even 'friendly capitalism'(Copyright Gee), aren't going to be impressed by the violence and anti-humanism of Red China, Cuba, Korea, Vietnam, Pol Pot, Mao or the Bolsheviks (if they are impressed by these people and these regimes they are misguided or easily satisfied in their pursuit of change). On the other hand, the socialists and other leftists should accept that there are capitalists who honestly believe that capitalism does afford the greatest freedom for everyone and isn't damaging to the society or individual, who aren't evil dogmatists, machavelli's or agents of an evil empire.
I think it will be easier for the socialists to accept this though since they are capable of greater free thinking, well mostly. The capitalists on the other hand I think will have difficulties because their ideology was largely borne of the cold war (socialism let's remind everyone predates the Cold War, China, Cuba and Bolshevism and the principles that inform socialism are older still) and is informed by the demonising of opposition necessary to win wars, not inform debate between the tolerant and peaceable. Besides the genuinely 'innocent' capitalists are few and far between, there's a lot more like Frenchy who's pseudo-religious commitment would lead him to dwell in hell if he thought he could curse heaven.
