An inconvenient question

Wonderful essay from a survivor of the Soviet Regime on having to deal with Progressives in this country. A few months old but well worth reading. From Oleg Atbashian:

Question Insanity: What to Ask Progressives
The two women who showed up early for my book signing at a small bookstore in Houston, TX, never even bothered to open my book. Wearing knowing smiles, they engaged me in a bizarre discussion that wound up leaping all around the known and unknown universe. They hadn�t the slightest curiosity about my ideas as an ex-Soviet immigrant in America, or what I had to say about my experience working inside the two ideologically opposed systems. As it turned out, they had spotted my flyer in the store window the day before, and the book�s title � Shakedown Socialism � had enraged them so much that they decided to return the following day and give me a piece of their collective mind.

Their act almost made me feel as if I were back in the USSR, where the harassment of people with my opinions was the norm. The shorter, pudgier woman was the soloist bully, while her skinnier, older comrade provided backup vocals and noise effects. The duo�s repertoire was an eclectic collection of unoriginal talking points, each branded with an almost legible label: NPR, Air America, MSNBC, and so on. Not only were those mental fragments mismatched in key and rhythm; the very existence of harmony seemed an unfamiliar concept to them. But compared to the hard-core screaming I used to hear from card-carrying Soviet bullies, this was almost elevator music. If I had survived the original cast, I could certainly handle a watered-down remake.

Framed on their terms, the debate zigzagged from the evils of unbridled capitalism to global warming to Bush�s wars for oil to Sarah Palin�s stupidity. Since my opponents wouldn�t give me a chance to respond, I soon became bored and tried to entertain myself by redirecting the flow of mental detritus against itself in a way that would cause its own annihilation. I did that by asking questions.

I remembered an old trick invented in the fifth century B.C. by Socrates. Instead of telling people what he thought was true, Socrates asked seemingly simple questions that put his opponents on the path of finding the truth for themselves. Seeking genuine knowledge rather than mere victory in an argument, Socrates used his questions to cross-examine the hypotheses, assumptions, and axioms that subconsciously shaped the opinions of his opponents, drawing out the contradictions and inconsistencies they relied on.

As the two women faced my questions, their knowing smiles turned to scowls. Sometimes they would backtrack and correct their previous statements; sometimes, they would angrily storm out of the room in the manner of Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg on The View with Bill O�Reilly. After a while they would return with more talking points, and then they had to answer another logical question. My friends who witnessed the scene told me later they saw the shorter bully beginning to foam at the mouth.

And the questions you ask -- he gives a treasure trove. Here are ten:

• If a politician gets elected by the poor on a promise to eliminate poverty, wouldn�t fulfilling his promise destroy his voting base? Wouldn�t he rather benefit from the growing numbers of poor people? Isn�t this an obvious conflict of interests?
• How did the �war on poverty� end? Has there been a peace treaty or a ceasefire? Who is the occupying force and who are the insurgents?
• If the poor in America have things that people in other countries can only dream about, why is there a movement to make America more like those other countries?
• If cutting out the middleman lowers the price, why are we paying the government to stand between us and the markets?
• How come Hollywood can always find a good side in thugs, but never in businesspeople? What was the last movie that pictured a self-reliant, industrious man as a role model?
• Why is bioengineering bad, but social engineering good?
• How come those who hate humanity for its faults are called �humanists� but those who love humanity for its virtues are called �hate-mongers�?
• Ever noticed that those who demand �power to the people� also believe that people can�t do anything right without government supervision?
• Why is there never a headline that says �Government program ends as its intended goal has been achieved�?
• Why are windfall profits a problem when they enrich U.S. companies that pay billions in taxes � but when Hugo Chavez uses the same windfall profits to fund Marxist guerillas in Colombia, it�s not a big deal?

Lots more at the site -- his book looks good...