Like a lot of the inside-the-beltway crowd, The New Republic’s Peter Beinart suffers from the disease of saying in 1,000 words what you can say in two. Case in point: his essay explaining what made him make the wrong decision to support the Iraq war.
Repeat after me: "Because I was fucking stupid."
That goes for people I dislike, people I admire, etc. You supported the war because you were dumb. I’ve done dumb things too, trust me, more than you can imagine. But the one thing I do know is that I never made the dumb decision to be in favor of this horrible war.
UPDATE: August says that weakness was/is to blame. Can’t say I disagree. The people who continue to support the war are among the fraidiest of fraidycats I’ve ever seen, more on that later.
At least, like John Edwards, you don’t seem to be buying into the face saving, jellyfish position of some Democrats who claim their ‘yes’ war vote really wasn’t a war vote. Anybody who buys into that line of BS would seem to discredit those did vote against the war.
Yeah, to believe that, Dugger, they would have depended on the honesty of George W. Bush. Silly bastards.
Dude, that’s five words.
And, it seems, we’re never going to get past this with these people. I just wish we could stop wasting our time getting them to acknowledge they fucked up, step aside and let the adults in the room (the people who were right from the start) get to the business of making things right. The Republicans depress me but the idiots on our side make me want jump in front of a moving bus.
Why isn’t Beinert working in a position where his decision making ability is better suited?
I’m thinking that would be in the area of viands handed out a window to drivers who have placed their orders with a mechanical clown.
I walked into a door
Oliver, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, suggests that stupidity was behind the original support for the Iraq war. I wish it was that easy, but that’s not the case. Many smart people wanted to go to war, and took pride not only in…
Let me see… I can maintain my position on the war (supporting it) and Oliver will call me “fucking stupid,” or I can renounce it and Oliver will call me “fucking stupid.”
Gosh, it’s a good thing I don’t take Oliver into consideration when I think about… well, anything.
J.
It’s either you had a moment of stupidity and have come to some sort of realization (a good thing), or that you’re too dumb to add 1 and 1 and are even dumber than you were 4 years ago.
Sigh…
The point I was trying to make was that when someone who has disagreed with you gives up and accepts your argument, the smart thing to do is to graciously accept their change and welcome them. To continue to kick them is… well… “fucking stupid,” as the phrase goes.
I guess it makes sense if your ultimate goal is not to win the argument, but to get everyone to acknowledge that you were right. If one’s motivation is ego, instead of principle, then continuing to insult those who’ve stopped arguing is logical.
Fucking stupid, but logical.
J.