Academic

YOU VOTERS ARE ALL A BUNCH OF BIGOTS! Attacking the motives of those who disagree with elite opinio?

By Glenn Reynolds

YOU VOTERS ARE ALL A BUNCH OF BIGOTS! Attacking the motives of those who disagree with elite opinion has become all too common.

American history confirms the need for leaders willing to make strong moral criticisms of their opponents and society. Certainly we could not progress without them. Still, the most successful?Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, et al.?have been those who appealed to the decency of their fellow citizens.

As the controversy over the planned Islamic Center near Ground Zero escalates, we have had many secular sermons on the need to recognize that the vast majority of Muslims should not be confused with the terrorists. No argument there. But how much more fruitful our own debates might be if the Judge Walkers, Mayor Bloombergs and Speaker Pelosis could extend that same presumption of decency to the American people.

Presumption of decency? Our leaders feel contempt for the people who elect them. And, looking at who we elect, it’s kind of understandable . . . .

Full post as published by Instapundit.com on August 10, 2010 (boomark / email).