Caring About War, Or Not
Byron York has some numbers to demonstrate that a crowd of people who cared deeply about some bad wars until recently have now decided they don't really care anymore. What happened to cause the change? Did the wars change significantly? Were they unjustified but now can be justified?
Hardly. The President associated with them changed, that's all. When it was George Bush, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were burning issues. When it's Obama, they're uninteresting.
This isn't particularly surprising. It's human nature. Still, it's a pattern I often point out on this blog, which deals mostly with Israel. People trot out objections to Israel's wars not because they care about the wars, but because they object to Israel.
This means there are two separate tactics needed when confronting such people and their claims. First, rebut their facts. Second, recognize that they aren't talking about facts at all, but about sentiments; while these are harder to combat (how do you dispute a sentiment?), their power over third parties could possibly be whittled down somewhat. Honestly puzzled observers may not like to see themselves as the dupes of other peoples' sentiments.
Hardly. The President associated with them changed, that's all. When it was George Bush, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were burning issues. When it's Obama, they're uninteresting.
This isn't particularly surprising. It's human nature. Still, it's a pattern I often point out on this blog, which deals mostly with Israel. People trot out objections to Israel's wars not because they care about the wars, but because they object to Israel.
This means there are two separate tactics needed when confronting such people and their claims. First, rebut their facts. Second, recognize that they aren't talking about facts at all, but about sentiments; while these are harder to combat (how do you dispute a sentiment?), their power over third parties could possibly be whittled down somewhat. Honestly puzzled observers may not like to see themselves as the dupes of other peoples' sentiments.
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