Information Warfare

Before I begin my rant, I want to update you all on my brother's recovery. So far, he's been marvelous. This is the best we've ever seen him after a surgery. He was able to walk the next day, albeit a little wobbly, and today he started physical therapy. He's in good spirits. This week, we'll get to find out what we can do about chemotherapy and maybe some other experimental drugs. Hope springs eternal. Now for my rant. The Terri Schiavo morass has been under my skin, giving me severe ADD. I had a little addiction to reading the posts in the Washington Post's online forum, but I quickly tired of that. It's amazing how many people out there are willing to believe misinformation if it suits their own ends. We are a nation of egomaniacs. There are some real troopers out there, trying to fight the misinformation by posting sources with objective data and objective opinions, like the guardian ad litem report and other court documents. Yet still people are dumb enough to believe the desperate lies and histrionic rhetoric that the Schindlers are throwing out. Terri is not there, peeps - she isn't making any meaningful noises - it's all reflexive. Sad to say it, but she left 15 years ago. It's time to let go. My mother said this, and I think it's somewhat true... the Bush administration likes to demean anyone that isn't like them. They try to demean the professionals - lawyers, economists, and now, apparently, the doctors in the Schiavo case. I mean, how many professional neurologists do you have to have examine her and tell you that she's in a persistent vegetative state before you will believe it? How many more tests before you believe the truth? Why should a heart surgeon in Washington be able to better diagnose a woman he's never met than a neurologist who fully examined her? Yeah, I'm talking to you, Senator Frist - shame on you! I hope that this totally kills your presidential bid, because you have completely exposed yourself as a political whore. The oldest profession in the world is alive and well, folks, especially in Washington politics. The tissue in most of her brain is DEAD. It's not coming back. A simple MRI isn't going to help. God is a sovereign and all-powerful God, but face it: noone's coming back from the dead in this body anymore, not since Jesus walked this earth. He doesn't allow dead mortal things to come back to life anymore. Even if He did, few people would believe - they would find some way to attribute it to something else, so that they could avoid being convicted of their sin and turning to worship Him. That's just human nature, despite the longing for eternity that God has put in our hearts. This debate illustrates the power of counterspeech. For every "bad" speech, it is possible to overcome it with counterspeech. Basically, it's like market theory. The more popular speech will eventually win, so there should be minimal government censorship as a means of stopping the bad speech. This, of course, is not perfect, and isn't always effective. But it appeals to my libertarian streak. Use when appropriate! And here, we must continue to educate and attempt to persuade others by presenting the facts, not misinformation. Emotional rhetoric and misinformation is the only thing that keeps this conflict alive. Shame on those who spread lies to win the war. But then, you probably believe your own lies... how else could you promote them with a straight face? The lawyers, especially...you should be disbarred. The sad thing is, no one here on earth is a winner. Terri's parents will probably go to their graves trying to sue Michael Schiavo for "murdering" their daughter. Michael will have finally had to bury his wife. It's a shame that Terri's ultimate passing will not give anyone but the media and the rest of America any rest. I hope Terri's soul is at rest, and that eventually her family will rest too.