On PBS's Bill Moyers Journal last night, Moyers interviewed Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, whose controversial remarks created a political storm last month. Reacting to advance excerpts of the interview, Fox News's Bill O'Reilly attacked Moyers on his show last night, calling him a "far left PBS guy" who is "extreme" and "pathetic." At the end of his Talking Points Memo segment, O'Reilly suggested that Moyers and Wright should "take a long vacation, perhaps in Iran."
Sometimes I think that we'd all be better off if we simply just viewed this sort of ignorance and rank hypocrisy for what it is- the rants of two self-absorbed morons more concerned with feeding their outsized egos than in having a rational discussion designed to increase understanding and communication.
When it's easier to engage in name-calling, insults, and character assassination, who needs to construct a convincing argument? When you can simply run down those you disagree with because you've got a teevee show and no one will stop you, can there really be any doubt that this is about being "fair and balanced"?
The truly sad thing about this sorry episode is that it really says far more about the American Sheeple than it does either Bill O'Reilly or Newt Gingrich. That so many people watch The O'Reilly Factor really only goes to buttress my theory that the American Sheeple are far more interested in being told what to think than in actually doing any sort of intellectual heavy lifting. When you begin to wonder why Our Glorious and Benevolent Leader © has spent two terms in the White House, you really need look no further than this example.
This is the sort of thing that happens when very a large segment- perhaps even a majority- of the American Sheeple demonstrates a preference for indoctrination and propaganda over a rational discussion of issues facing our country. Then again, voting Republican (and watching The O'Reilly Factor certainly is easier than thinking, eh?
