Cal Thomas tried to deflate the hope that Barack Obama is inspiring, but he picked the wrong quote to open his column in Wednesday’s Opinion pages. Thomas used “Hope is a dangerous thing,†a line from the film “The Shawshank Redemption,†to warn that unfulfilled hope can lead to despair. But the point of that movie was the transformational power of hope. It was about how hope can help you triumph over circumstances that cynics (such as Thomas) say can’t be overcome.
And, by the way, the hope of the two prisoners featured in the movie ultimately was fulfilled.
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That’s why Cal Thomas such an influential film critic.
Poor guy did a Google search and ran across the “hope” line on imdb.com then spun out a column. Junior high newspaper stuff.
Not only is Thomas a fool, he’s a lazy fool.
And there not just a little bit or irony with Thomas’ lifting a movie quote out of context. “The Shawshank Redemption” created a sub-genre of movies (echoed even by Rush Limbaugh’s “magic negro” diatribes) in which Morgan Freeman (or a surrogate) sees the beautiful potential of an otherwise reprobate. “The Bucket List,” is just the most rececent manifestation of the sub-genre.
The success of Barrack Obama has been so overwhelming (to both Democrats and Republics), they’re reduced to just wishing he were a few years older. Like Morgan Freeman.
The “all poetry, no prose” attack is easily refuted by checking out http://www.OnTheIssues.org which is a non-partisan clearing house for every vote, every official statement, on every issue you can imagine. The specifics are there, the records are enlightening.
What old-liners (of both parties) don’t understand is that America needs some poetry sometimes and this might be another one of those years. “All we have to fear is fear itself,” was pretty poetic policies. “… that government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth,” is pretty poetic. “Ask not what your country can do for you…,” is poetry that’s pissed off Republic Party advocates for forty-five years.
Even more ironic is how chance geography and Bill Clinton’s campaign biography (”The Man from Hope”) has been reversed by Obama to make Senator Clinton somehow *against* “hope!”
That’s pretty good political ju jitzu.
Meanwhile, Johnny Mac flies off on corporate jets with his 30-ish clone of his 50-ish wife who makes enough money as a communications industry lobbyist to get her blue dresses dry cleaned.
Is The Shawshank Redemption based on a true story?
A: Pure Fiction, nice story but utter fiction.
To repeat, The Shawshank Redemption is about as fact as the toothfairy, it is a FICTION story.
BUT…it is certainly as factual as Obama’s ‘forever sunshine’ tale of ‘change’ and what he can do with his inexperience. He will do nothing but take the country down the road of less freedom and increased socialism, and unless that’s what you think is a happy ending to a story you better reconsider his qualifications.
Obama’s Silver Tongue is Forked, it doesn’t even make good fiction.
Cal Thomas is a merchant of fear – HE is threatened by any message of hope. I remember the Klan and others deriding JFK’s message of hope almost a half-century ago. I hope that Obama sweeps away the kind of fear-mongering practiced by Thomas and his fellow travelers in talk radio.
When you got nothin’, resort to “BE AFRAID.” Be very afraid! Leave out the specifics of what to fear, just BE AFRAID of something.
That’s what we’ve been hearing for over seven years. When specifics do come out we find there isn’t any truth to the fear mongering.
Now we’re supposed to be afraid of hope and change?
Cal Thomas watches movies?
Huh. I figured he was like the average con and derived his entertainment from shareholder meetings and insurance seminars.
“The dog is a gentleman; I hope to go to his heaven, not man’s”
– Mark Twain
Regular, notice how most don’t even try to discuss what Cal said, but instead resort to a small minded attack against the man, completely in general.
That’s just one of the reasons I so disrespect the Dem/Libs arguments.
I guess we shouldnt forget that along with the HOPE, the Tim Robbins character had a PLAN and stuck to it.
Hope didnt get him out and save his buddy. A well thought out plan did.
most don’t even try to discuss what Cal said
I read Cal every time he’s published in the Eagle. While moderately erudite and verbose, he never actually says anything.
He does make for great comic relief.
Yes Boxlock,
I’ve already given the plan of the Leftist Lib previously on this blog.
It’s Persecution, Accuser and Victim. It’s a triangle based method they practice and know well.
Next time you read a whiner post, see if you can match up one or more of those attributes, you will have identified yourself a Lib. :D
Re: Boxlock and Regular
DNFTT
It’s called baiting.
0925 post is playing victim and accuser. :D
And I think YOU missed Cal’s point:
“Can too much trust in a politician also be dangerous and lead to despair, even cynicism?”
And we do not live real life in a movie. Even if this is the Land of Oz.
Oh, The Wizard of Oz had a theme of Hope too.
If I can just see the Wizard, I can get home!
Trust in a politician.
Particularly one who says the word, “change” in every other sentence, but we never get specifics of exactly what “change” he is promoting.
Particularly with a politician using the word, “hope” as if he is at a bible revival.
We are electing a politician, not a damn preacher.
We must’ve seen two different versions, Max. I understood that Dorothy Gayle had it within herself to accomplish her goals.
Then again, I misunderstand most things.
Please disregard my previous post. Obama is the
great hope for our nation. We NEED Obama.
(at least until Hillary is outta there)
Carry on.
What was Dorothy looking for as she followed the yellow brick road? And through her travels she met the tin man, scarecrow, and lion, what were they all looking for? Hope?
Obama@! Obama! Obama!
No, not hope. They were looking for the gold standard because the silver standard had too many problems. Aren’t you still saving all your silver certificates from the 30’s? Wizard of Oz is allegory. Y’know, a toothy, cold-blooded writer’s device laying in ambush for the unwary reader.
“Y’know, a toothy, cold-blooded writer’s device laying in ambush for the unwary reader.”
Toto, too?
I read his column the other day where he attacked Reagan as not a very good conservative,
ghotiphaze
Posted February 21, 2008 at 11:08 am | Permalink
We must’ve seen two different versions, Max. I understood that Dorothy Gayle had it within herself to accomplish her goals.
———————————————–
Oh she did! But all the Democrat Munchkins were telling Dorothy she needed that Wizard to save her!
Only in the end, did Dorothy figure out that she could do it on her own.
What causes you to think the Munchkins were Dems? Looking at their hairstyles, you’d assume they were republicans.
ghotiphaze
Posted February 21, 2008 at 12:00 pm
“What causes you to think the Munchkins were Dems? Looking at their hairstyles, you’d assume they were republicans.”
Hairstyles have nothing to do with it, they were clearly Dems as they felt they could do nothing without the Government Wizard pulling the strings and levers, and were telling Dorothy she too must rely on that same Wizard, when in fact she had it within herself to succeed all along.
Every time I see and/or read Cal Thomas, it reminds me of when he was Vice President of communication of the Moral Majority. The Majority sent out a fund raising letter saying that many public high schools and middle schools were using a college level book for the terrible sex education classes. When this claim from the Majority was a flat out lie, Mr. Thomas commented that sometimes you must lie to get people worked up and get out and get something done. Mr. Thomas will support most anything as long as it is ultra conservative.
Wow! Regular is right!!!
I think I see a little Persecution, and Accuser
in C.T. Rich’s post.
I didn’t make out the victim.
You are a hero Regular!
“It’s a triangle based method they practice and know well.”
“But all the Democrat Munchkins”
So if this is oz, and democrats are Munchkins,
I guess that would make Capn the lead Lollipop Kid?
Hope is great, everybody should be blessed with hope, but hope needs to be founded primarily in oneself. NOT a false Wizard, or a government program or entitlement, let alone the crafted talk of an aspiring politician.
Who did Thomas hope to convince with his article? Judging by his views on hope, nobody. Mission accomplished. Nice that people like Cal Thomas and Rush Limbaugh are advertising the Republican party as the party of despair and surrender.
“Boxlock” waxes –
“Hope is great, everybody should be blessed with hope, but hope needs to be founded primarily in oneself.
“Primarily?” Perhaps. But even you implicitly admit it can’t be based exclusively on self.
You get caught up in your Conservative idealism and forget that there’s no way to have a one-man bucket brigade. In a democracy, the key understanding should be we’re all in this together. That’s what Lincoln was talking about when he cited government of, by, and for the PEOPLE,; not the “self,” but the *people.*
they were clearly Dems as they felt they could do nothing without the Government Wizard pulling the strings and levers…
Amazing. A carnival huckster from the 1890s projecting an image onto a smoke screen several days walk for hale and healthy people. It’s pretty obvious (just rub two gray cells together) the Munchkins had never actually seen the Wizard (behind the screen. Sorry, shouldn’t let facts get in the way of a good story), so were doing fine ON THEIR OWN!
Oz is fantasy, you’re talking sci-fi. Keep your genres straight.
MonkeyHawk Posted February 21, 2008 at 1:51 pm
“Boxlock” waxes –
“Hope is great, everybody should be blessed with hope, but hope needs to be founded primarily in oneself.
“Primarily?” Perhaps. But even you implicitly admit it can’t be based exclusively on self.
True, Monkey,
Sometimes hope is misplaced when it’s placed in oneself. I assume that’s the reason many are so left leaning, they have fear or actual experience in the failure of placing their hope in themselves.
I hope you aren’t in that category.
You also state, “You get caught up in your Conservative idealism and forget that there’s no way to have a one-man bucket brigade”.
Again, true, but a bucket brigade breaks down fast when one or more don’t fulfill their responsibility. That’s the situation we are in now, we are letting too many choose to fail and making those working take up the slack. Not fair, and encourages more of the same.
I will agree with Thompson that you can be setting yourself up for failure by putting your hope in one person. We often do that and end up left with a hollow feeling when that person fails to bring about what we were hoping for. Part of what movies appeal to is the symbol of hope, also candidates like Obama and Ron Paul appeal to that too. We know the current system is broken and leads to failure, so we hope for change in one person that takes the lead so we do not have to. Its head on the block not ours but when they fail we can be angry at them for failing not ourselves.
We all need something to believe in, religion, country or fate, else what would be the point of seeing another day that will end as yesterday did? One of the things that was most disheartening while researching the Neoconservatives ideology was their believe in using Patriotism, nationalism and Religion to control the masses. The three things that often give the most strength in times of despair and they see them as nothing more that the “popular myths” to be used to get the masses to do as they want. BUT does that mean you should not believe in Patriotism, nationalism and religion? I would say no as all give hope and allows you to face hard times. A man once asked me, “Is it better to believe insincerely in a real God or sincerely in a false God?”. I thought on it for a couple of days and answered “A real God would know you are insincere and therefore your believe would do you no good. But if by your sincere believe in a false God yours and those around you lives are enriched and made better for your believe. Then it is better to believe sincerely in a false God”.
“Then it is better to believe sincerely in a false God”.”
A better example of the false and shallow value system of the DemLibs would be hard to find.