The Straw-Man
A Case Study In Liberal Debate

This is a long one, folks, but please bear with me, and thanks for participating.

XEKE.com will gladly defend the positions that we take.

One of the tactics of Liberal debaters that has been utilized to the extreme is that of the Straw-Man Agrument. Defined as "an informal fallacy based on misrepresentation of an opponent's position," Liberals often define a Conservative's position (build up a straw-man), then attack it. So that I can't be accused of succumbing to the same fallacy of which I'm speaking, I submit to you the following response that we received recently. And so that I can't be accused of taking comments out of context, I've presented the response in its entirity from start to finish, with only two edits for foul language (you'll know when you get there). I'll comment at the end. (If you get tired of his incredible attacks and points, scroll down to the dotted line for my comments.)

Dear Mr. Zack Myers:

You made a "we" against "them" statement! Or "us" versus "them" call to arms exhorting all the conservatives to rally against the liberals. I assume you consider liberals American haters.

Very eloquently you presented your platform as the mantle bearer of all those who are:

Pro God
Pro Life
Pro Family
Pro Military
Pro Second Amendment Rights
Pro Science
Pro Capitalism.

Bravo! I assume you are the promised messiah! Or at least also know about when exactly Jesus Second Coming is going to occur.

You trumpet that you are "Pro God!" Fine, but solve the mystery for me and other liberals when and how God delegated you to be His representative?

And more besides, which God are you talking about?! The Jewish God that deeded to His Chosen People, the Jews, all the "greater" Holy Lands stretching all the way from the Niles deep within present day Egypt to the eastern banks of Tigris and Euphrates deep within present day Iran? The Lands stretching from the tip of Sinai Desert deep within present day Egypt all the way to the Northern Shores of Caspian Sea, Khazaria, in present day Russia? We are talking about much of present day territories of Egypt, Iran, Armenia, Azerbaijan Republic, Georgia, Russia, and Saudi Arabia; and almost all of present day Sovereign Nations of Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, and Kuwait.

I am sure since God is in direct communications with you, and you are familiar with Zionist Jews, you have heard of all this. They rather not publicize this fact for fear of a backlash in the World Public Opinion. So they go stage by stage.

As if God is impotent and his Will must be done 5 thousand years later after being decreed by the brave Israeli troops who armed with American technology and bulldozers and bombs must destroy innocent Lebanese civilians and with American Tax Payers money build new Settlements for the Jews of Bulgaria who feel better off on stolen Palestinian Lands than their own Lands by Black Sea. And bribe Iranian Jews by the cash promise of $100,000!

May I be blasphemous and question the wisdom of this God of yours? Why does God need all this bloodshed and all these horrors committed to make his Kingdom come true?

That explains why you are Pro Military. Judging by almost all other conservatives bravery and love of military, you simply like to have others in military go and get killed while you sip lemonade on a balcony and communicate with your generous Holy-Lands-Deeding God of your Jewish Faith!

While the Christian soldiers get killed and maimed, you can lobby for the next War on Iran.

Mighty generous of you, Sir!

You claimed that you are "Pro Life!" My my, I guess the 1,500 Lebanese children killed by your Military (since you are by birth an automatic Israeli Citizen by the virtue of your being part of the Superior Race of Chosen People of God, I meant Israeli Military) did not deserve life. So please define for the good Christian folks on this list which life you are "Pro Life" for? Jewish Life only? Or are you too embarrassed to come clean and admit that Christian life is not included either!

You said that you are "Pro Family!" What a noble idea. As if it is in the Charter of Liberals to be Anti-Family! That's why Liberals care for health care for innocent children without health care. Tell us more what exactly you mean by your claim, Sir!

You said you are "Pro Military!" Sure! Though you have asthma and thus graciously give your place in the Army to a hapless financially hard pressed Catholic Hispanic to go and fight your Creation in the name of God: war in Lebanon, War in Iraq; and soon War in Iran!

You said you are "Pro Second Amendment Rights!" Well, Liberals are Pro Constitution and not just Pro an Amendment of that Constitution. They support all aspects of Liberty and Freedom and Rights for All. I guess of all the sweeping aspects of the Constitution, you only support the Right to Bear Arms! Is that a pseudonym for the Right to kill at will all Muslims, Arabs, N*****s, F****s, Latinos, Chicanos, Iranians, and all others who do not bend down and worship you, a member of God's Chosen People Tribe?!

You said that you are "Pro Science!" Is that why you oppose the teaching of Evolution at schools and you insist on prayers at Science classes? These darned Liberals really backward folks when they insist sciences remain poor and free from state diktats!

You said that you are "Pro Capitalism!" Jolly good! Though you forget in pure Capitalism there ain't no taxes. Tell us Sir, how is the American handout of 30 Billion Dollars annually to your other Homeland, the State of Israel, is financed and made possible then?

How is the half Trillion Dollars Iraq War has been financed then?

How is the Military whose support you claim is financed then?

In Capitalism, may I teach you, there are three underlying factors, namely:

i) Free Flow of Capital
ii) Free Flow of Movement for People - e.g. labor, expertize, etc etc.
iii) Free Flow of information - which includes technology, etc etc.

Your Conservative Gurus, President George Bush and Shimon Perez of Israel now-a-days demand an accounting of every bit of money from a petty shop owner to his suppliers! They also restrict the movement of people. They erect walls of Concrete. Walls of Shame! walls of Tears! If you are dark skinned or have a Muslim sounding name or Latino, they you are incarcerated. Your "Pro Capitalist" Gurus also restrict all flow of all information. They control every line in every e-Mail written anywhere anytime!

Mr. Myers, please Sir! Some clarifications are in order.

Thank you kindly.

Unsigned

First of all, some clarifications are not in order because a multitude of positions were attacked by this reader that XEKE.com does not and has not taken. But I'll take this time to thank the reader for allowing me the opportunity to state our positions. . .the ones we take, not the ones that have been falsely attributed to us. Furthermore, as an aside, I'd like to point out that it was the Liberal, not the Conservative, in this discussion that used the N-word and the F-word (referring to homosexuals).

Getting back on topic, has there ever been a better example of a straw-man argument? I could go line-by-line, but I'd only bore you more than is necessary to make my point, so I'll hit the high points.

For starters, we're set up by this reader as Zionists, blamed for Lebanese deaths, lectured about the will of God having some earthly political meaning, and finally accused of serving a God whose kingdom is predicated on bloodshed. XEKE.com's religious affiliation (we're Christians) can best be explained by reading the scriptures. Too much reading? Start with the Gospels. Do we live these principles out mistake-free all of the time? No, but we sure make an effort. (If you're reading this, and you're interested in learning more about Jesus, feel free to contact us.)

Second in the list of straw-man attacks is the assertion that we want our military to get maimed while we discuss our Jewish faith in the comfort of our own homes. (This just may have been my personal favorite.) Never mind that this responder is anti-Semitic, and never mind the fact that we're not Jews. XEKE.com appreciates the bravery of our volunteer fighting force. The men and women of our military signed up to serve, not at gun-point, but because of a sense calling to and for their country. It blows my mind that young Americans would give the prime years of their lives to take such a risk and defend America, and I am thankful every day for these American soldiers.

Why do Liberals take it personally when a Conservative describes himself as "Pro-Family"? Me thinks thou doth protest too much.

As for Liberals being anti-American, certainly there are many of the Liberal persuasion that love America and wish prosperity for America and Americans. But judge for yourself: when folks wish ill upon our military, when they seek embarrassment for America, when they actively seek to undermine American interests at home and abroad, when they promote the degradation of long-standing American traditions and institutions, when they are friendlier with our enemies than they are with our allies, at what conclusion can one arrive? XEKE.com has spoken on this issue. Stop beating the straw-man. We don't want Conservatives to rally against the Liberals, we'd like to engage Liberals in (civil) conversation and persuade those on the intellectual fence to subscribe to the Conservative philosophy.

We're pro-life when it comes to the defenseless. I'm horrified that some governments and all terrorists hide behind innocent life, and there will be victims in this imperfect world. While the loss of innocent life around the world saddens XEKE.com, we have chosen to speak of the defenseless here at home for whom action can be taken to spare their lives. Abortion isn't something that's going to be legislated into oblivion, but rather something about which minds must change to see that life begins much, much earlier than delivery. Additionally, XEKE.com is interested in pointing out the hypocrisy of the Left when it comes to abortion-related issues.

The Science retort was yet another straw-man attack. Simply visit The Nature of Science, our "position-paper" on science, the scientific method, science education, and science reporting to see that it is XEKE.com, not the Liberal internet debaters, that wish to follow the scientific method. One may disagree with it on political grounds, but one would be hard-pressed to disagree with it on scientific grounds. (This position-column was written by a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine with an undergraduate degree in Biology & Chemistry. It's not writen on intellectual quick-sand like some of the "science" you'll read on the DailyKos, et.al.)

XEKE.com's position on the Second Amendment is as follows: "A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed." Therefore, we do not advocate the killing of the "victim groups" that were named, as the reader suggests, but rather we advocate the right of American citizens to own guns. Further, we oppose those who seek to place restrictions on gun-ownership. Click here, or here for more of XEKE.com's comments about firearms. And to aid in one's pursuit of the truth rather than build up a straw-man to be attacked, let us clarify that we support all amendments and clauses of the U.S. Constitution, including (despite what it has led to) the 16th Amendment.

And as far as capitalism and taxes are concerned, the responder finally hit the nail on the head. XEKE.com is fully supportive of Constitutional taxation (to support a military and national defense). All other taxation we could do with out, because taking money from one American to give to another American is government mandated theft. The term "true capitalism" was used by our responder, and he attaches his definition of "true capitalism" to us and then attacks us because "true capitalism" doesn't exist in Israel. Huh? "Okay, class, one more time. What type of fallacacy is this?" There are plenty of columns on XEKE.com in which to search to discover what it is that we believe. Help yourself. (That was an inherently Conservative statement.) We're not here to defend positions that the reader claims we take.

Ultimately, we can recognize Left-Wing talking points when we read them. There is, no-doubt, a database somewhere containing a fountain of information with a title that reads "When Conservatives claim _X_, argue back with _Y_." While this doesn't take into account what the Conservative is actually saying, instead focusing on buzz-words, it does help the Liberal feel better about himself! We can take it, though. Thanks for reading.

rg

8/8/2007