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No doubt you feel the same way about Rick Santorum.
by arthi 14y ago
No doubt you feel the same way about Rick Santorum.
- cynicalkane 14y agoTo elaborate on this, fanaticism often looks like a great idea to those allied with the fanatics, even if they disagree with their behavior. But people should not feel entitled to fanaticism because they think they are right, because that's how you get people like Santorum. Everyone thinks they are right, after all. It's hypocritical to say fanaticism is a luxury permissible to the "good guys" and not to the "bad guys".
- graeme 14y agoThat would only be true if he thought santorumms ideas were generally good, but too extreme.
- nickpinkston 14y agoI'd say I feel the same way about Ron Paul - he brings a refreshing perspective to politics, but he's certainly not right on everything. Santorum adds nothing to the debate but repetition of the narrative that's already going on. I should add to this that no one ever likes the same tactic they use to be used against them - in this case having Stallman define an extreme position to maintain a more pragmatic narrative. All considered, I'm glad both Stallman and Paul are doing their thing - even if I don't agree with them much of the time.
- arthi 14y agoSo it's more appropriate to say you don't mind fanaticism as long as you agree with most of what they're saying, not because fanaticism is good. Typical hypocrisy. It's like saying "Yeah, I'm all for free speech... EXCEPT those guys who disagree with me." Guess what? The other side feels the same way. Their guy is moving the Overton window in the direction they want. RMS and Ron Paul are not pragmatic to them.
- Spooky23 14y agoSantorum is a true believer. There's a difference between a leader who drinks the kool-aid, and a leader who mixes the kool-aid. Kool-aid drinkers by definition cannot set the agenda.
- pjscott 14y agoI would feel that way about Rick Santorum if (and only if) I wanted people's views to move closer to his. This is not a statement about his opinions, but about how his opinions influence the public discourse. Likewise for RMS.