The reason we hold truth in such respect is because we have so little opportunity to get familiar with it.

– Mark Twain

The internet is the worst thing that has ever happened to civil discourse in this country.

Before the internet, political disagreements were hostile.  Everyone believed the other side was wrong.  No matter the argument presented, regardless of its basis in fact, it was almost impossible to sway the other side to one’s viewpoint.

With the internet, political disagreements have become toxic and destructive.  The partisanship, the arguments, the daily slander – they have all escalated out of the realm of sanity.   There are literally fights going on the streets.   Sure, we’ve seen it before, but never with this level of ferocity.

The internet is to blame.  Why?

We look to Marcus Aurelius, who tells us, “Of each particular thing, ask: ‘What is it in itself, in its own construction?”

The internet does not exist as anything more than various forms of technology strung together.  The worlds created by it are constructs.  They are virtual worlds, not real ones.

Given that the internet itself is not human, our interaction with it only serves to depersonalize the communication it allegedly facilitates.  In point of fact, interpersonal communication has eroded since the internet became ubiquitous.

With depersonalization comes dehumanization.   We now see the Other as more inhuman than ever before, because we now longer see him face-to-face, or eye-to-eye.

All we see are the Other’s words, taken out of context, printed, reprinted, disseminated, distorted, and reworked to fit an agenda.  No different perhaps than traditional print media, except now the misinformation is created and distributed instantaneously.  With each successive iteration, the original text, subtext, and context are stripped away.  In the end, there is no there, there.

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Let’s be honest, the only way to watch Keith Olbermann is drunk–blind drunk. That would explain his anemic ratings and his small but loyal following. Real drunks always frequent the same bars.

Since Olbermann is dedicating his show tonight to White House talking points on health care, I figured I might as well make it interesting by creating a drinking game for it.

Note: I don’t recommend watching Countdown, there is always something more entertaining and informative on the Watching Paint Dry network, but if your morbid curiosity gets the better of you make sure you have booze handy.

Take a drink every time Keith does one of the following:

• Says “sir” in anger. (Three if it’s a “How dare you, sir!)
• Mentions Sarah Palin (Two if he throws in a pejorative like “failed” or “quitter” first, three if he talks about Trig and the health care he got.)
• Each time he mentions the bogus 44,000 people who die each year for lack of health insurance number.
• Each time he mentions 46, 47 or 50 million uninsured. (Do a shot if he uses the new 30 million number.)
• Praises Canada, France or the UK. (Second sip when he says long lines are a lie.)
• Each time he says “death panel” and Palin.
• Each time he claims Republicans have no plan or solutions. Do a shot when he says Republicans want people to die.
• With every mention of Rush, Hannity, Beck or Levin (aka people with an audience).
• Finish your drink each time he exploits someone’s personal health care horror story and presents it as the norm.
• Chug from the bottle if he mentions the fact that Medicare rejects more claims than any other insurance plan in the country.
• Finish the bottle if he tells the truth about anything, accidentally or on purpose. (I was going to say that you take a drink each time he lies but I don’t want to cause a nationwide wave of alcohol poisoning.)

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