Some moving passages from Al Gore's The Assault on Reason (one of my current reads)...a wonderfully stimulating , passionate work from Mr. "what-could-have-been..."
Reason-the belief that free citizens can govern themselves wisely and fairly by resorting to logical debate on the basis of the best evidence available, instead of raw power...
The very idea of self-government depends on open and honest debate as the preferred method for pursuing the truth-and a shared respect for the rule of reason as the best way to establish the truth. The Bush Administration routinely shows disrespect for for that whole basic process. It claims divine guidance. It feels it already knows the truth and isn't very curious to learn about any facts that might contradict it...
For example, Bush described the war in Iraq as a 'crusade,' disregarding the obvious fact that the sectarian implications of that description might make the task for our troops more difficult in a Muslim nation that had repeatedly fought off invasions by Christian crusaders in the Middle Ages.
The Bush Administration has demonstrated contempt for the basic tenants of a rational decision making process, defined as one in which an honest emphasis is placed on getting good facts and then letting good facts drive decisions: Instead, the hallmark of the current administration is a systematic effort to manipulate facts in service to a totalistic ideology that is felt to be more important than the mandates of basic honesty.
