Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Intellectual Honesty

Most people have it, or have the courtesy to make more than a passing attempt to maintain it. A few people wear a mask of it for their own purposes (usually nefarious). Recognizing the early warning signs before getting drawn into the webs of deceit spun by such frauds and deviants is a problem when corresponding with others online.

4 comments:

Peter Hoh said...

So, is this comment related to Red State Update?

Peter Hoh said...

Didn't mean to be cheeky, especially if what has been left unsaid is something that's really bothering you. What's the rest of the story?

Randy said...

Oh, no, Peter! It seems to me that the guys at Red State Update are quite capable of being among the most perceptive political commenters to be found in America today. And they're funny as Hell as well, a real bonus.

It was just a random thought after a couple of recent accidental run-ins with the integrity-challenged. More of a note to myself than anything, I guess. If people really want to insist that apples are in fact oranges, I can deal with that (or not). It is when they change their tune mid-way through and insist that only oranges can be oranges that I begin having a problem. Once they deny ever having said apples were oranges in the first place (and that is so easily verified), then I finally realize who and what they really are.

Peter Hoh said...

My current favorite bit of intellectual dishonesty? Saying something like "It's not appropriate to play the blame game" while playing the blame game.

Yes, it's a great thing tht pundits' words can come back to haunt them should they fail to stick to principles. Here's Bill Kristol, at the onset of the Iraq War.