In this Chesterfield advertisement, Ronald Reagan pushes the deadliest drug known to humankind. Reagan knew as much about the health of his "friends" as he did about the health of The Body Politic, From the beginning of his career to the end, Reagan consistently mistook toxins for tonics.
He was a poorly educated man who persuaded Joe Blow and Jane Doe
that it was normal - indeed, admirable - to be as uninformed as he was.
He was a poorly educated man who persuaded Joe Blow and Jane Doe
that it was normal - indeed, admirable - to be as uninformed as he was.
***
If "facts are stupid things," they can be dismissed, a practice much to Ronnie's liking.
If "facts are stubborn things" however, they cannot be dismissed.
Adams' observation is so well known that Reagan misrepresentation was either deliberately deluded or deliberately deluding. (Like his claim that he was present at the liberation of European concentration camps, when, in fact, he spent the entire war in Los Angeles. http://www.salon.com/2010/05/20/bushreagan/)
Whether deluded or deluding, Reagan's mangled epistemology typifies his zeal to supplant truth with platitude.
Often when Reagan was wrong, he was completely wrong.
Diametrically wrong.
Perversely wrong.
Prince of Darkness wrong.
Of course, we all have our personal favorites but by my lights Reagan's most dazzling dismissal of truth was his assertion that "trees cause more pollution than automobiles." http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Trees_cause_pollution
One wonders what travesties St. Ronald was devising when death intervened.
Dry water?
Square circles?
A rich compendium of Ronnie's brain farts is accessible at http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6106690
***
"The terrible thing about our time is precisely the ease with which theories can be put into practice. The more perfect, the more idealistic the theories, the more dreadful is their realization. We are at last beginning to rediscover what perhaps men knew better in very ancient times, in primitive times before utopias were thought of: that liberty is bound up with imperfection, and that limitations, imperfections, errors are not only unavoidable but also salutary. The best is not the ideal. Where what is theoretically best is imposed on everyone as the norm, then there is no longer any room even to be good. The best, imposed as a norm, becomes evil.”
"Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander,” by Thomas Merton
***
"For every complex problem, there is an answer that is clear, simple and wrong."
H.L. Mencken
***
The Ronald Reagan Myth
http://prorev.com/reagan.htm
"Without mentioning him by name, (documentary film maker, Ken) Burns also noted how the modern political era – of politicians running against the government – began with Ronald Reagan. “Let’s just be very clear that up until 1980, every debate in a presidential election was one candidate saying, ‘My version of government is better than yours and here’s why,’” Burns said. “And for the first time in U.S. history, a major candidate ran against government itself – and so opened the door, let the genie out of the bottle, for an amazing transformation of American society.”"
"Go Ahead. Campaign On The ACA, A Great Piece Of Social Legislation"
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2014/06/ken-burns-go-ahead-campaign-on-aca.html
***
Ronald Reagan: "Facts Are Stupid Things"
***
"Priceless Ronald Reagan Quotes"
***
Consider the most traitorous comment ever made by an American president.
The Ronald Reagan Myth
http://prorev.com/reagan.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment