This just in: we're a nation of (&^%$#@ morons

If you spend any time at all watching or listening to the Mainstream Media, you might be forgiven if you begin to think that the "spontaneous" outbursts of righteous indignation from Right-wing "activists" at various town hall meetings is the legitimate exercise of free speech. Well, you might be forgiven, but you're not (&^%$#@ stupid, right? I get that some folks legitimately disagree with the Obama Administration's push for health care reform. Some of these dissenters may even have constructed (what they think are) well-formed and defensible arguments, whether they're against health care reform or for maintaining the status quo. Sadly, "I got mine; you can damn well get your own" is neither a rational nor defensible argument.

The sad thing is that it's no longer really possible to determine where legitimate outrage ends and "AstroTurf" begins. In both cases, of course, a large portion of those making themselves heard do neither themselves nor their "movement" any favors. Instead of following the "'tis better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt" admonition, Conservatives of the "teabagger" persuasion engage in astonishing acts of intellectual self-parody. It's difficult not to listen to some of these folks and wonder how they manage to get through their days. Do they even have a clue? Are they capable of engaging in anything resembling rational thinking? I'm not suggesting that Liberals like myself are intellectually superior; Lord knows there are enough woolly-headed Liberals lost in their own private Idaho. Still, some of the folks on the Right really do seem to be dumber than a box of hair. Even worse, when you have Conservative "activists" engaging in violence at a townhall meeting in Tampa, FL, how can we escape the conclusion that we're turning into the South Korean Parliament?

In the Right's race to the bottom of the intellectual and moral barrel, they've dragged the level of debate in this country down to the level of a junior-high school boy's locker room. Reasoned, rational debate is being replaced, with shouting, threats, and in some cases actual violence. Rational, considered thought has given way to lies, rumors, and propaganda. Truth has been forced aside by fear-mongering and ignorance. Acting like spoiled children is no longer the exception. Worst of all, racism is an underlying theme. There are significant numbers of brain-dead racists who simply cannot stomach the idea that we have an African-American President...and the GOP is actively feeding the frenzy.

Sometimes, I look around me, and I feel almost as if I'm living on the set of "Idiocracy". How sad is it that the lowest common intellectual denominator now seems to be setting the tone for what should be a legitimate debate about the direction of our country? Truly, we've become a nation of (&^%$#@ morons.

WE DESERVE BETTER. Not that we're going to get it any time soon....