Half of all people tend toward being assholes. (Proved beyond doubt when this spoiled democracy RE-elected George Bush Jr.) It has always been so, and always will be. Humanity comes from nature, which spreads risk through Chance, delivering a potential asshole each time the coin flipped at conception lands tails.
Technology helps assholes amplify their effects on others. (Proved by the existence of cable "news" networks, car alarms & chirpers, Wall St. CDOs and high-speed trading, etc.) That is the double-edged nature of knowledge; it can expand your reach and even save your life, until assholes get their hands on it.
Every year it becomes more obvious that the world is split between those who are curious and seek meaning, because they love life, and those who find meaning in their brutal ability to dominate, because they hate life and people in particular.
They sneer at empathy; the only time they're willing to stand in someone else's shoes is after they've blown the wearer to smithereens.
They sneer at "regulations" -- the tedious details of Law put in place to balance the interests of the diverse individuals who make up society.
They sneer because all those sissified niceties just get in their way.
They play the political game just to get inside and poison government, then society -- spreading the ignorance, hate and cynicism that consumes and distracts the pitchfork crowd long enough to let the assholes keep on stealing until they've trucked everything away, right down to the pipes.
You thought these assholes would go away when Obama won? They will never go away. Looked at in the most positive way possible, they are our "worse half," conniving brutes installed by nature's random balancing act to test us, to help keep our critical judgment lean, sharp and clear eyed for the long voyage ahead.
The few headlines that triggered this screed:
On proto-fascist mobs rallying to the aid of angry Confederates and billionaires, and their Fox/GOP minions, at "health care town halls": Senator Goes Face to Face With Dissent
On the lucrative Torture Industry: 2 U.S. Architects of Harsh Tactics in 9/11's Wake
On the shocking revelation that Karl Rove -- the Conscience of the GOP -- could have done something bad: E-Mail Reveals Rove's Key Role in ’06 Dismissals
Update: A loaded weapon guarantees your right to be an asshole: Gunning for Health Care by Gail Collins
This screed has been brought to you by the head-boiling effects of a mini-heatwave and a heat trapping apartment, evil incarnate, and an economy bad enough to give me even more time to spout...
