They say talk is cheap. But in fact it can be devastatingly expensive. Among the generation of Germans who were enthralled by Hitler's eloquence, millions paid with their lives and their children's lives for empowering this demagogue to lead them to ruin and infamy.
Germany before Hitler was one of the more tolerant nations in Europe. That was what attracted so many Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe— tragically, to their doom.
German immigrants who settled around the world have been among the more tolerant peoples— not angels, a standard that only intellectuals could use, but comparing favorably with most others.
Do not for one moment think that we are either intellectually or morally superior to those Germans who put Hitler in power. We have been saved by our institutions and our traditions— the very institutions and traditions that so many are so busy eroding or dismantling, whether in classrooms or court rooms or in the halls of Congress and the White House.
Talk matters for good reasons as well as bad. Anyone familiar with the desperate predicament of Britain in 1940, when it stood alone against the Nazi juggernaut that had smashed whole nations in weeks or even days, knows how crucial Winston Churchill's command of the English language was to sustaining the national will, which was the margin between survival and annihilation.
Unfortunately, people on the make seem to have a keener appreciation of the power of words, as the magic road to other power, than do people defending values that seem to them too obvious to require words.
The expression, "It goes without saying. . ." is a fatal trap. Few things go without saying. Some of the most valuable things in life may go away without saying— whether loved ones in one's personal life or the freedom or survival of a nation.
Barack Obama is today's most prominent example of the power of words. Conversely, the understated patrician style of country club Republicans is no small part of their many problems.
It is no accident that by far the most successful Republican politician of our lifetime— Ronald Reagan— was a man who did not come from that country club background but someone who was born among the people and who knew how to communicate with the people.
Words can shield the most blatant reality.
Legislation to take away workers' rights to a secret ballot, when deciding whether or not they want to be represented by a labor union, is called the "Employees' Freedom of Choice Act."
The merits or demerits of this legislation have seldom been debated. Who could be against "freedom of choice"?
The Obama administration's new budget, with deficits that make previous irresponsible deficits look like child's play, has a cover that says "A New Era of Responsibility."
You want responsibility? He'll give you the word "responsibility." Why not? It costs nothing.
Some observers are contrasting last week's highly successful speech by President Obama to Congress with the lackluster Republican response afterwards by Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana.
People familiar with Governor Jindal have a high regard for him and many think he would make a good president. But Republicans have always had more people who would make good presidents than people who would make good presidential candidates. So long as we have a democracy, that distinction is crucial.
Governor Jindal made a typical Republican mistake when he began with a "me too" celebration of Obama's "historic" election. With a very limited time to address some complex issues, he needed to get right to the point and sober up such members of the audience as were capable of being sobered up.
He was, in a sense, defensive, as if he had to establish that he was a good guy. General Douglas MacArthur gave a one-word definition of defensive warfare: defeat.
There can be too many words, as well as too few. Governor Sarah Palin is doing herself no good by discussing her disastrous interview with Katie Couric. That does not look presidential, or even senatorial. A quarterback has to forget the interception he threw last time, and just make a better throw next time.
To find out more about Thomas Sowell and read features by other Creators Syndicate columnists and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com. Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305. His Web site is www.tsowell.com.
COPYRIGHT 2009 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.
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In January 2003, Obama became chairman of the Illinois Senate's Health and Human Services Committee when Democrats, after a decade in the minority, regained a majority.[54] He sponsored and led unanimous, bipartisan passage of legislation to monitor racial profiling by requiring police to record the race of drivers they detained and legislation making Illinois the first state to mandate videotaping of homicide interrogations.
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JENIFAR
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http://www.drug-intervention.com/index.html -Drug Intervention
Comment: #1
Posted by: jenifar
Thu Mar 5, 2009 12:01 PM
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Barry Hussein has cheapened talk on the presidential level in America. Not only does he come across (to me) as a con-man or a used-car pusher, but now the truth is out, that he doesn't talk anywhere, including rodeos, without his ubiquitous teleprompter.
JFK had an irritating linguistic trick. When asked a question, he invariably responded with, "Well, uh, let me, uh, say uh this uh about that" and that gave him a second or three to work out an answer.
Reagan would smile and give a folksy answer to brittle and sinister questions in the minefield of Washington reporters, beginning with the meanest, Helen Thomas.
But BH's obfuscation of the true meaning of words is extremely vexing. He didn't invent the reprehensible term, "fairness doctrine", but that is the exact kind of duplicity he engages in.
Americans had better pray, sincerely, that he is unable to unleash the kind of evil upon this nation that it appears he has begun to initiate; elsewise, we are doomed.
Comment: #2
Posted by: Juanito Verde
Thu Mar 5, 2009 9:41 PM
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 Obama's plans will finish bankrupting America! As Taxpayers know, putting people in power with little or no knowledge, should never happen. I sincerely hope the non-taxpaying people who put Obama in Office figure out his 'hype' is the same as other politicians, and they're not going to get any more freebies, as America is now without money and, once again, what's going to happen to America when the interest isn't paid on these trillions of dollars that was borrowed without Taxpayers consent! The more Obama talks about what he's doing that's
so great for America, the more Taxpayers are hearing 'Socialism' is right around the corner.
Never once, have Taxpayers heard words from him and his buddies "we're going to cut all our
salaries and retirements to $12,000.00 until we get trillions of dollars paid off!" After
all, it's costing him nothing to live 'high off the hog, now is it?'
Fed Chairman, Ben Bernanke, stated and I'm quoting ‘We really had no choice in bailout of AIG!'
Yes, Mr. Bernanke, you did have a choice! When AIG received first bailout, why weren't strict
guidelines imposed on them; such as, cut ‘CEO fat cat' salaries, freebies, and retirements to
maximum $25,000.00 year. Older employees, offer them an early retirement package! All
other salaries to be cut by at least one-quarter, as a slice of the pie is better than no slice at all!
Mr. Bernanke this includes you, Obama, Pelosi, Rangel, Waxman, politicians! The other
option would have been to let AIG file bankruptcy so they could start over, and maybe this
time they would be more concerned and knowledgeable of what it takes to run a company by
tightening their pocketbooks! Taxpayers understand Bay of Thailand is buying AIG Retail
Bank Company and deal is to be completed April 2009. Will you and rest of politicians make
sure AIG pay off the trillions of dollars borrowed, without Taxpayers' consent, to foreign
countries? President Obama's top economic advisers vigorously defends his 3.6 trillion budget!
News flash for you -- “Taxpayers don't defend this nor any of the so-called put people back to
work programs, called infrastructures. I just left a meeting in which one of the ‘economic
advisers' from a bank stated he'd been in DC for a week!” I asked him why he thought America
needed infrastructures if we didn't bring textile and furniture manufacturing jobs back to
America? He stated ‘they' didn't discuss this, just infrastructures! Remember, these large banks
like Citicorp, Wachovia, etc. were bailed out! Taxpayers wonder why we're bailing them out if
politicians continue allowing the ‘economic' idiots to advise them. He had no answers! Guess
what, Mr. Economic Adviser was hoping the floor would open up and I'd fall through it! You
see, all the expert politicians and economists know as much about ‘thrifty management' as a
newborn. Bankruptcy is inevitable for “Freddie, Fannie, AIG, Banks, and a couple
automakers'!” Politicians and CEOS are going to have to ‘go back to basic add and subtract
methods, learn that they have to work seventy-eighty hours week, for a change, get off their
plush chairs, roll their sleeves up, sweep the floor if necessary, and work from the ground up.
There seems to be a lot of ‘experts' in government and financial institutions with no common
sense. It's time to run America like a private business; meaning, President, Vice-President,
Secretary, and Treasurer. All these cabinet members collecting huge salaries and benefits will
have to come to an end. Taxpayers know it's time to cut salaries to $12,000.00 yearly for all
politicians. After all, these Public Servant jobs are less than 30 days of service and, in today's
world of mismanagement, deceit and greed, this is more money than they deserve. Why aren't
we prosecuting the people handing out Taxpayers monies and the people who's receiving it?
Keeping America's Promises? Whatever the ‘Promises' are, you've been in office long
enough to have keep them! You see, you have to cut spending, before you can put America back on track! Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this out! Taxpayers know that more ‘hidden agendas' and ‘movements'
will surface after election, right?” We, the Taxpayers, are fed up with Obama and Clinton, rangel, Pelosi, Reid,
and the rest of the political bunch that's selling America out a job at a time! Our once
stable American economy has gone bye-bye, thanks to your so-called promises! American
people, of all races, are suffering thanks to politicians like you!
There's absolutely no more money for healthcare, schools, jails, prisons, social, welfare
programs, your salaries, your 6-8 offices, and all your freebies! Do you think Taxpayers
should continue to pay since you've sold America out, given their jobs and security away?
Wake up America!
Comment: #3
Posted by: Shirley deLong
Sun Mar 8, 2009 9:32 AM
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