As an American, the most damaging conceit we possess is the sense of entitlement we feel that we should always be shown respect even if we haven't begun to earn it. Most Americans either have no understanding of the example's conditions or firmly believe that no one should ever strongly criticize.
It is the height of both arrogance and stupidity to disregard criticism without allowing even the possibility that it might be true.
@shaan5262For a guy who is supposed to be so intellectual he does not use any evidence to support his claims.He spews a lot of hateful opinions and he obviously regards himself very highly, but he just says hateful things.Saying he does not believe in the death penalty but he does for Bush and Cheney, that is just an irresponsible thing for someone of his stature to say about an American President.He wishes that Bush and Cheney had been put in front of a firing squad.You are a sick man Mr. vidal
@kuhnmartin: I picked up on no hate from Vidal. To say that Bush and Cheney authorised torture in Abu Ghraib and in secret prison sites across the world is not hateful. And it's not Gore Vidal who suggests that war criminals should be sentenced to death. It's been the national policy of the United States to seek the death penalty for any country that subjects waterboarding to American captives. By America's own laws Bush should be sent prematurely to heaven. Gore's facts are unassailable.
@FromAtomsMade First of all, Bush is NOT a war criminal, and NO ONE can prove otherwise. If you have the facts, then you hire a lawyer and prosecute him. Are you condoning Gore's assesment that Bush and Cheney should be executed? A former American President and Vice President? And if you care SO much about waterboarding terrorists like KSM, why are you not EQUALLY up in arms screaming about terrorists beheading innocent victims, American and otherwise, on video, and they were not even soldiers
@FromAtomsMade Like Daniel Pearl or Nick Berg. They were BEHEADED. BEHEADED. Strictly for their Jihad. Bush authorised waterboarding to gain intelligence to help stop any further attacks. They were not doing it just for the sheer joy of it, or for their political beliefs or anything. It was to gain intelligence. Why do you care so much about the enemy and their so called rights and not murdered Americans who were not even fighting or soldiers? Article three in the Geneva Conventions does NOT
@FromAtomsMade cover these enemy combatants. They DO NOT hail from one country, under one flag, have an identifying uniform, etc., therefore, they are NOT covered, and if they get waterboarded to help save American lives, go for it. And waterboarding is still debated whether or not it is torture. I myself do not put it in the same class as torture like Saddam and his sons dealt out to their own people (skinning alive, burning alive, throwing from rooftops, cutting off body parts, etc.)
@FromAtomsMadeWhen waterboarding is done and over, there is no permanent physical damage. They, for a better term, "get over it."Getting skinned alive or burned alive you do NOT get over.Agreed, it is most assuredly not comfortable, but again, if KSM is made to be uncomfortable through water boarding for any length of time to help gain intelligence that could save Americans lives, I am ALL FOR IT.Maybe you should stop worrying about the terrorists rights and think about your own people for once.
@FromAtomsMade And to get back to the original point, Vidal IS a very hateful person. Listen to almost any interview and he will be putting down some political figure, not in an intelligent way, but by childish name calling. He speaks HORRIBLY of the USA, and all the people in it, proven by his blanket statement, "The American people are stupid and don't have the slightest idea of what history even is." And that is not out of context, he is just talking badly about the USA, yet again. He sounds
@kuhnmartin And he's goddamn right, Americans are complete idiots. Over the last 50 years I've seen the education system here go down the drain. During the Bush years the country was completely dumbed down . Bush was the beginning of the end of America. His election was proof that Americans are complete fucking idiots.
@MrTruthAddict You are so ignorant. Americans are complete idiots. That is a blanket statement, so if you are American, then you would be an idiot, but I doubt you consider yourself one so you should re think that statement. You are like so many liberals wanting to blame everything on Bush. The country was dumbed down during his years? HUH? I thought it was over the last fifty years but you think it was mainly Bush's fault. And how is that? How is the dumbing down of American's, that you say
@MrTruthAddict has been happening for the last fifty years, how is that Bush's fault? Explain your point because I don't think you have one. How is either of his elections proof that Americans are idiots? Just because you did not vote for him and don't agree with his policies does not make everyone who voted for him and idiot. I could just as well say you are an idiot for NOT voting for him. Do you see that you have no argument, only opinion and a politically partisan and biased point of view?
@MrTruthAddict Personally, I think Gore is an idiot. For someone who is supposed to be so smart and wise, all he seems to do is childishly name call and wish that Bush was put in front of a firing squad. What a piece of garbage Gore is as is anyone who thinks that. Just because you don't agree with someone does not mean they should be executed. So tell me again, how is it Bush's fault some Americans are dumber than before? How did he have a hand in that?
@kuhnmartin So far your complaints have been he's told obvious truth, insulted the former POTUS & stated that the law should be applied. & Claimed al this makes him an idiot.?Do you have single legitimate complaint or are you too stupid to come up with one?
@kuhnmartin Most people are stupid. There is no denying it. Look at our "Arts" & Entertainmet: Jersey Shore, Kim Kardashian. Look at our political leaders: Palin, Bachmann, those 2 make W. Bush look like an intellectual elite. We were lied to so they could send us to Iraq, and rather than ask questions and demand answers, Americans went out and waved their flags and shouted down and made an example of the Dixie Chicks. And how did that work out?
@kuhnmartin Vidal is a hateful man? Have you ever seen Buckley, hannity, Beck, O'Reilly, Levin?
I get frustrated too watching this dumb shit.
After most people learned their lesson and voted in Dems in '06 and '08, they took a nap and the Dems did the same imperialist bullshit the Republicans had just done. I didn't vote Dem or Repub in '10 and never will again. If you can see a difference between the 2 parties, let me know.
@FromAtomsMade He sounds a lot like Bobby Fischer. Same hatred for the USA and the people in it, from the lower class civilian all the way to the highest ranks of Washington. He is a hateful man, and that's the fact Jack.
@kuhnmartin As Christians are so fond of saying, "Hate the sin, love the sinner" He's attacking the stupidity of Americans, not Americans themselves. You cant deny that Americans are idiots.
Once you get to the top of the mountain you take off your shoes and prop up your feet and boast of your pride and satisfaction...................whilst the hungry and downtrodden plan your demise...............
That is our current position that corporate facist enforced foreign policy of the US has rapped the world while they lied to the American people about how we got to the top..........
Damn the constitution and full steam ahead with soicopathic profits......
I agree with four other Vidal observations: (a) Americans as a people are least suited for world dominion on account of their foreign cultural ignorance and annoying boastfulness, (b) Bush regime's Iraq and Afghanistan wars should be viewed as a continuation of President Truman's "perpetual war for perpetual peace" doctrine, (c) it will take two generations to fix the mess created by Bushies, and (d) an economic and financial collapse maybe the only way to "save the republic".
It is hard to argue with Vidal that Americans are mostly "idiots" on account of (a) the worst public schooling system in the first world, and (b) poor teaching of history in schools. If it were not for their general ignorance, Bush administration would not have been able to mount a "coup" against the republic after 9/11 by suspending Magna Carta (that guarantees due process of law to every citizen). Patriot Act is a serious breach of personal liberties and individual privacy.
americans think they have perfect higher education. I call bullshit on any theory that contends america educates ANYBODY that well
SUpersaiyajinjerkbag 3 months ago
As an American, the most damaging conceit we possess is the sense of entitlement we feel that we should always be shown respect even if we haven't begun to earn it. Most Americans either have no understanding of the example's conditions or firmly believe that no one should ever strongly criticize.
It is the height of both arrogance and stupidity to disregard criticism without allowing even the possibility that it might be true.
TheTexanCanadian 10 months ago
So sad what a windbag has turned into.
perkiomenville 11 months ago
Poor old Gore . I sometimes think he believes that if he points out the deficiencies and hypocrisies in the U.S. that people will thank him for it.
crazystarwarsguy1006 1 year ago
@shaan5262For a guy who is supposed to be so intellectual he does not use any evidence to support his claims.He spews a lot of hateful opinions and he obviously regards himself very highly, but he just says hateful things.Saying he does not believe in the death penalty but he does for Bush and Cheney, that is just an irresponsible thing for someone of his stature to say about an American President.He wishes that Bush and Cheney had been put in front of a firing squad.You are a sick man Mr. vidal
kuhnmartin 1 year ago 6
@kuhnmartin: I picked up on no hate from Vidal. To say that Bush and Cheney authorised torture in Abu Ghraib and in secret prison sites across the world is not hateful. And it's not Gore Vidal who suggests that war criminals should be sentenced to death. It's been the national policy of the United States to seek the death penalty for any country that subjects waterboarding to American captives. By America's own laws Bush should be sent prematurely to heaven. Gore's facts are unassailable.
FromAtomsMade 1 year ago
@FromAtomsMade First of all, Bush is NOT a war criminal, and NO ONE can prove otherwise. If you have the facts, then you hire a lawyer and prosecute him. Are you condoning Gore's assesment that Bush and Cheney should be executed? A former American President and Vice President? And if you care SO much about waterboarding terrorists like KSM, why are you not EQUALLY up in arms screaming about terrorists beheading innocent victims, American and otherwise, on video, and they were not even soldiers
kuhnmartin 1 year ago 9
@FromAtomsMade Like Daniel Pearl or Nick Berg. They were BEHEADED. BEHEADED. Strictly for their Jihad. Bush authorised waterboarding to gain intelligence to help stop any further attacks. They were not doing it just for the sheer joy of it, or for their political beliefs or anything. It was to gain intelligence. Why do you care so much about the enemy and their so called rights and not murdered Americans who were not even fighting or soldiers? Article three in the Geneva Conventions does NOT
kuhnmartin 1 year ago 9
@FromAtomsMade cover these enemy combatants. They DO NOT hail from one country, under one flag, have an identifying uniform, etc., therefore, they are NOT covered, and if they get waterboarded to help save American lives, go for it. And waterboarding is still debated whether or not it is torture. I myself do not put it in the same class as torture like Saddam and his sons dealt out to their own people (skinning alive, burning alive, throwing from rooftops, cutting off body parts, etc.)
kuhnmartin 1 year ago 9
@FromAtomsMadeWhen waterboarding is done and over, there is no permanent physical damage. They, for a better term, "get over it."Getting skinned alive or burned alive you do NOT get over.Agreed, it is most assuredly not comfortable, but again, if KSM is made to be uncomfortable through water boarding for any length of time to help gain intelligence that could save Americans lives, I am ALL FOR IT.Maybe you should stop worrying about the terrorists rights and think about your own people for once.
kuhnmartin 1 year ago 9
@FromAtomsMade And to get back to the original point, Vidal IS a very hateful person. Listen to almost any interview and he will be putting down some political figure, not in an intelligent way, but by childish name calling. He speaks HORRIBLY of the USA, and all the people in it, proven by his blanket statement, "The American people are stupid and don't have the slightest idea of what history even is." And that is not out of context, he is just talking badly about the USA, yet again. He sounds
kuhnmartin 1 year ago 18
@kuhnmartin And he's goddamn right, Americans are complete idiots. Over the last 50 years I've seen the education system here go down the drain. During the Bush years the country was completely dumbed down . Bush was the beginning of the end of America. His election was proof that Americans are complete fucking idiots.
MrTruthAddict 11 months ago
@MrTruthAddict You are so ignorant. Americans are complete idiots. That is a blanket statement, so if you are American, then you would be an idiot, but I doubt you consider yourself one so you should re think that statement. You are like so many liberals wanting to blame everything on Bush. The country was dumbed down during his years? HUH? I thought it was over the last fifty years but you think it was mainly Bush's fault. And how is that? How is the dumbing down of American's, that you say
kuhnmartin 11 months ago 4
@MrTruthAddict has been happening for the last fifty years, how is that Bush's fault? Explain your point because I don't think you have one. How is either of his elections proof that Americans are idiots? Just because you did not vote for him and don't agree with his policies does not make everyone who voted for him and idiot. I could just as well say you are an idiot for NOT voting for him. Do you see that you have no argument, only opinion and a politically partisan and biased point of view?
kuhnmartin 11 months ago 3
@MrTruthAddict Personally, I think Gore is an idiot. For someone who is supposed to be so smart and wise, all he seems to do is childishly name call and wish that Bush was put in front of a firing squad. What a piece of garbage Gore is as is anyone who thinks that. Just because you don't agree with someone does not mean they should be executed. So tell me again, how is it Bush's fault some Americans are dumber than before? How did he have a hand in that?
kuhnmartin 11 months ago 3
@kuhnmartin So far your complaints have been he's told obvious truth, insulted the former POTUS & stated that the law should be applied. & Claimed al this makes him an idiot.?Do you have single legitimate complaint or are you too stupid to come up with one?
yellowkrux 6 months ago
@kuhnmartin
how many people will be reading your books when you are dust you overly medicated pig.
antiochus66 2 months ago
@kuhnmartin Most people are stupid. There is no denying it. Look at our "Arts" & Entertainmet: Jersey Shore, Kim Kardashian. Look at our political leaders: Palin, Bachmann, those 2 make W. Bush look like an intellectual elite. We were lied to so they could send us to Iraq, and rather than ask questions and demand answers, Americans went out and waved their flags and shouted down and made an example of the Dixie Chicks. And how did that work out?
Eaglesfaninca 5 months ago
@kuhnmartin Vidal is a hateful man? Have you ever seen Buckley, hannity, Beck, O'Reilly, Levin?
I get frustrated too watching this dumb shit.
After most people learned their lesson and voted in Dems in '06 and '08, they took a nap and the Dems did the same imperialist bullshit the Republicans had just done. I didn't vote Dem or Repub in '10 and never will again. If you can see a difference between the 2 parties, let me know.
Eaglesfaninca 5 months ago
@FromAtomsMade He sounds a lot like Bobby Fischer. Same hatred for the USA and the people in it, from the lower class civilian all the way to the highest ranks of Washington. He is a hateful man, and that's the fact Jack.
kuhnmartin 1 year ago 19
@kuhnmartin As Christians are so fond of saying, "Hate the sin, love the sinner" He's attacking the stupidity of Americans, not Americans themselves. You cant deny that Americans are idiots.
MrTruthAddict 11 months ago
Exactly my thoughts!
America is on a gradual social and intellectual decline for many years now.
bartjebeltegoed 1 year ago 3
Once you get to the top of the mountain you take off your shoes and prop up your feet and boast of your pride and satisfaction...................whilst the hungry and downtrodden plan your demise...............
That is our current position that corporate facist enforced foreign policy of the US has rapped the world while they lied to the American people about how we got to the top..........
Damn the constitution and full steam ahead with soicopathic profits......
jacopman 1 year ago
Very insigtful interview. Thanks for posting this.
angryDAnerd 2 years ago
PART II:
I agree with four other Vidal observations: (a) Americans as a people are least suited for world dominion on account of their foreign cultural ignorance and annoying boastfulness, (b) Bush regime's Iraq and Afghanistan wars should be viewed as a continuation of President Truman's "perpetual war for perpetual peace" doctrine, (c) it will take two generations to fix the mess created by Bushies, and (d) an economic and financial collapse maybe the only way to "save the republic".
-Kashif
KashifHKhan 2 years ago
PART I:
It is hard to argue with Vidal that Americans are mostly "idiots" on account of (a) the worst public schooling system in the first world, and (b) poor teaching of history in schools. If it were not for their general ignorance, Bush administration would not have been able to mount a "coup" against the republic after 9/11 by suspending Magna Carta (that guarantees due process of law to every citizen). Patriot Act is a serious breach of personal liberties and individual privacy.
-Kashif
KashifHKhan 2 years ago