Bob Davis, Clear Channel AM 1130 conservative talk-show host, in what turned out to be a misguided effort to provide his beefy radio audience an ideological blow job, said he would tell the families of the Newtown massacre victims to “go to hell.” Bob’s “read” on the past few months was that our government’s and the media’s insistence on parading the Newtown families in front of America to affect public opinion was a violation of his rights and a cheesy way to sway people’s emotions. Does anyone out there think children being murdered in a school shouldn’t be considered a compelling reason to effect change in America? Congress tried to pass laws that made it a little tougher for really bad people to buy assault weapons, and 90 percent of surveyed Americans concurred that universal background checks were a no-brainer. The Legislation Failed. Bob Won. Worse, The Acronym Won. America Lost.
“Beware of listening to this impostor; you are undone if you once forget that the fruits of the earth belong to us all.”—Rousseau
Whether Bob likes it or not, we’re all in this together. This is not ALL ABOUT BOB. Nor is it about the BobClones of the world. Regardless of the divisive rhetoric of his tribe or party, or whackos and pundits who populate the airwaves, the truth is: Connectedness is a fundamental law of nature. We are all connected by countless mechanisms: infrastructures, biological systems, metaphysics, and even the most basic of instincts, survival. To deny is a form of narcissism, a disorder not uncommon among rigid ideologues who regularly push the boundaries of balance and madness. It’s all about them; everyone else, screw off.
We see extreme versions play out in terroristic attacks, hate crimes, and group deviance like the women-repressive cultures that exist in India, Africa, and the Middle East. The signature characteristic being dissociation from other human beings, allowing for all manner of punishment, abuse, repression, and even genocide, practiced with little remorse or contrition. At its most benign, it is blind self-centeredness. At its worst, pure evil. The ancient Christian fathers pronounced a thousand years ago that “selfish thoughts lead a person to passions, habits, and eventual alienation from God and neighbor.” Ironically, religion or the misinterpretation of it often feeds the fire.
An ideologue would contentiously rebut that connectedness is simply another way for liberals to rationalize a growing kumbaya socialism, or the “unconstitutional” proposals around gun control or the thievery of their liberties. It is nothing of the sort. It is simply a call to reason—making the smartest, even the toughest decisions, for the good of the whole. Indeed, connectedness by nature requires that we be accountable to one another and assume personal responsibility for our actions. Yet, people choose to separate rather than enjoin in common cause.
Bob Davis is a smart guy. He knows how to capture and hold audience with hyperbole and inflammatory rhetoric. The question is, is he smarter than the flim flam he sells? Is he smarter than his listeners? My guess is, he is. Way smarter.
Recent Comments