Giffords serves turkey at Tucson air base

solletica said:

Politicians are tools, much like blender, vacuum cleaners, light bulbs, etc. that are bought and owned for the purpose doing a specific task for the owner.

Just as light bulbs create light for the user, and blenders mix the ingredients the user puts in it, pols write and approve the laws the user wants.

People, OTOH, exhibit independent thought, consciousness, etc. They also possess attributes like empathy, character, etc. not found in household items or other tools.

Lastly, pols, light bulbs, etc. can be replaced. Lives, OTOH, cannot.

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solletica said:

Politicians are tools, much like blender, vacuum cleaners, light bulbs, etc. that are bought and owned for the purpose doing a specific task for the owner.

Just as light bulbs create light for the user, and blenders mix the ingredients the user puts in it, pols write and approve the laws the user wants.

People, OTOH, exhibit independent thought, consciousness, etc. They also possess attributes like empathy, character, etc. not found in household items or other tools.

Lastly, pols, light bulbs, etc. can be replaced. Lives, OTOH, cannot.

Click to expand...

solletica said:

Politicians are tools, much like blender, vacuum cleaners, light bulbs, etc. that are bought and owned for the purpose doing a specific task for the owner.

Just as light bulbs create light for the user, and blenders mix the ingredients the user puts in it, pols write and approve the laws the user wants.

People, OTOH, exhibit independent thought, consciousness, etc. They also possess attributes like empathy, character, etc. not found in household items or other tools.

Lastly, pols, light bulbs, etc. can be replaced. Lives, OTOH, cannot.

Click to expand...

solletica said:

Yes, there's no question that it's showing courage. In spite of its injuries, it's resolved to go on living, which is highly uncharacteristic of a politician.

The serving of Thanksgiving meals to troops is a standard political move, but there's other evidence that giffords is not just a run-of-the mill tool. The key evidence is that, immediately prior to the shooting, it chose to communicate directly w/the people in its district in an open outdoor setting, exposing itself to danger. Even with security guards present, this is highly atypical. No other federal politician has ever held anything like a "Congress on your Corner" event outside a grocery store.

Still, although I'm aware that the popular perception is that pols should simply be considered humans like people, I would have to see much more evidence before placing giffords or any other pol in that category.

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solletica said:

You're apparently ignorant of the facts. It wasn't just a 9 y/o girl that was killed. A seemingly decent judge and also lost his life in the mayhem.

And not all life is equal. It's always tragic whenever innocent people are killed, and I've acknowledged that. But to equate light bulbs and pols w/humans is delusional. The latter are tools that can be replaced. But lives cannot.

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Fiddytree said:

That's ok. There's still enough people out there with the good sense to realize that politicians have an unenviable job of trying to please millions of people with unrealistic expectations that refer to them as items that plug into outlets. I'm sure it is also tiring to listen to jaded idealists who are the very same ones that nearly force politicians to be seen as mere sycophants.

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