alternative hippopotamus

progressive cyberdadaism from our nation’s capital

March 24, 2006

The Fallacy of a “Variety of Viewpoints”

by AltHippo @ 5:42 pm. Filed under Bush, hacks

The notion of “variety of viewpoints” is a canard. Take any subject from current events. For instance, the NSA/domestic espionage saga. No one is looking for a “variety of viewpoints” on domestic espionage. They want to get the facts: 1.) did Bush spy on civilians? 2.) If so, was this legal? 3.) If not, should the administration be held accountable? 4.) Can a program be designed that is both Constitutional and allows for increased domestic security?

Instead, what “variety of viewpoints” means in this context is various pundits waxing on and on over whether this issue will help our hurt the Republicans politically, help or hurt the Democrats politically.

So, that’s one reason why “variety of viewpoints” is not realizable in this time and place.

Here’s another reason: the role of a journalist needs to include the notion of comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable. Yet, it’s come to mean finding a way to parse Bush/Cheney statements before the war so they didn’t really say that Iraq had WMD, or that Iraq was connected to Al Queda. See, my point here is that Bush and Cheney are very comfortable. They’re the ones that need to be afflicted, not their critics. The problem is not that we lack sufficient variety of views. The problem is that Bush and Cheney are getting with murder, and the 4th estate is not holding them accountable.

What “variety of viewpoints” really means to our wingnut compadres on the right is a variety of their views.

Take the teaching of evolution in our public schools. My mouth dropped as I read this discussion with Gov. Mike Huckabee on the Arkansas Educational Television Network: (Arkansas Times)

Student: Many schools in Arkansas are failing to teach students about evolution according to the educational standards of our state. Since it is against these standards to teach creationism, how would you go about helping our state educate students more sufficiently for this?

Huckabee: Are you saying some students are not getting exposure to the various theories of creation?

Student (stunned): No, of evol … well, of evolution specifically. It’s a biological study that should be educated [taught], but is generally not.

Moderator: Schools are dodging Darwinism? Is that what you …?

Student: Yes.

Huckabee: I’m not familiar that they’re dodging it. Maybe they are. But I think schools also ought to be fair to all views. Because, frankly, Darwinism is not an established scientific fact. It is a theory of evolution, that’s why it’s called the theory of evolution. And I think that what I’d be concerned with is that it should be taught as one of the views that’s held by people. But it’s not the only view that’s held. And any time you teach one thing as that it’s the only thing, then I think that has a real problem to it.

If you read the article you’ll find that the issue is not evolution being taught alonside creationism. Which, by the way, is not permissable under Supreme Court decisions. No, the issue is evolution is not being taught at all in Arkansas.

Is the meaning “variety of viewpoints” now a little more clear?

If not, let me put it like this: the right views the left as “the enemy.” (The left views the right as a kind of freak show, but that’s another story.) How sincerely do you really expect someone to want their enemy’s viewpoint presented?

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5 Responses to “The Fallacy of a “Variety of Viewpoints””

  1. Senny Says:
    March 24th, 2006 at 7:33 pm

    Some have made a simpler and starker comparison:

    When the topic is “evolution vs. intelligent design/creationism” they say, “Let’s teach both sides!”

    When the topic is “sex education”, they say “Abstinence only!”

  2. AltHippo Says:
    March 24th, 2006 at 8:12 pm

    That’s pretty much it.

    I don’t remember the exact words, but Paul Krugman had a column from a few years ago. The crux was: Shape of Earth: views differ.

    There’s your variety of views.

  3. The Absurdist Says:
    March 24th, 2006 at 10:28 pm

    Are we now in the post enlightenment age? Reason and evidence are now no more valid than
    tradition and superstition.

  4. JIMMIE D J Says:
    March 26th, 2006 at 8:43 am

    Why do you “AltHippo” think the president authorized the NSA spying program?
    What do you think President Bush’s goal was?

  5. JIMMIE D J Says:
    March 26th, 2006 at 1:25 pm

    I’m sorry. I didn’t know I needed my own “blog
    site” for response. However, I have created one.
    Still, someone please tell me why the President
    would risk impeachment over the NSA spy program.
    What was his goal? What were his motives?

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