For those of you who haven't read it already, pick up a copy of George Orwell's "1984." It holds some remarkable insight into the workings of the mind of man when it comes to political and even religious allegiance. The two most important terms in there are "doublespeak" and "doublethink."
That is, to say or believe two mutually contradictory ideas at the same time and to see absolutely no problem with it. A fine example would be the University of New Mexico's new professor of paleontology, Marcus Ross, who believes dinosaurs walked the earth 70 million years ago and that the Earth is only 10,000 years old. As Lewis Black once said, "Don't think about that sentence for more than three minutes or blood will shoot out your nose."
This serves as proof of two things. First, doublethink can happen to anyone. Second, a university degree does not mean nearly as much as universities want you to think. Ultimately, it's little more than an expensive piece of paper that can get you a job someone else would probably do better.
Doublethink is rearing its ugly head on the campaign trail in an increasingly violent fashion. McCain-Palin rallies have been getting out of control and showing up on the news. McCain supporters have been yelling about how they don't know Sen. Barack Obama, even after the most in-depth primary in the nation's history. Somehow, these same people claim to know Palin well enough after two months and three train-wreck interviews.
One man declared he's scared of Obama. Scared? Obama may be the calmest, most even-tempered man in the nation, even the world. Move over Dalai Lama.
Republican supporters who raise hell over Obama's connections with Fannie Mae and the current economic meltdown are a classic example. The connection: Four years ago Obama called up the Fannie Mae CEO, Franklin Raines, to do research for a housing policy. These supporters choose to ignore McCain's friendship with Charles Keating, a central figure in one of the many collapses involved in the 1987 Savings and Loan Crisis. In 1989, McCain and four other senators were investigated on corruption charges related to profits derived from investing in Keating's activities and gifts received from Keating.
My favorite, though, has to be the claims that Obama is both a Muslim and a disciple of the "racist" Christian preacher, Jeremiah Wright. First, one of the founding tenets of our nation includes the declaration that religion does not automatically disqualify one from public office. Second, Obama was not raised Muslim. He was actually raised agnostic and converted to Christianity twenty years ago. In fact, his "Muslim" father was a devout Atheist.
Wright was right. White people do dance like that - we really do.
Both parties deliberately manipulate their most ardent followers into this intellectual self-dishonesty. This time it's palpably different, though. For the first time, possibly since the 1800 election, one party has bred a hatred of the other that could turn into violence. The parties have always campaigned hard to win the election, but usually because they believe they are the ones who would best serve the nation.
This election, the Republican Party seems to be campaigning to win for the sake of winning, even if it tears the nation apart, or worse, gets its opponent killed.
Wes Hunt is a history senior. His column appears on Tuesdays.
