Does one statement made by a person define that person? (enemies, suspect)
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I often hear people quote one person and imply that the essence of that person can be summed in that ONE quote, ignoring all other deeds and words.
I'm not talking about a history of comments but one particular comment. Do you feel that one comment defines what the person is all about? Does it define you??
Of course not. The constant media cycle and partisan mania ensures that any stupid thing your political opponent says will be repeated ad nauseum. As will all your actions they think they can make hay with. They bank on the fact that most of us are hypocrites, eager to find evil in our enemies, and blind to our own evils.
For instance, someone here posted about how Obama is a marxist set to destroy the country because of some discussions he had as a sophomore at Occidental College. Please.... Who is not a know it all at 17?, and an ideologue at 19? (If I knew half as much as I thought I did, I'd be President, with a couple Nobel Prizes, a wife like Sophia Vergara, and a mansion in Maui; I am 0 for 4..drat!). People mature, and change, thank goodness, but still sometimes go off the rails and say stupid stuff. You look at the longer track record to judge someone's character, unless, of course, you have your own agenda and you know your audience is a bunch of hypocrites, trolling for outrage.
That is not to say the abusive behavior and rhetoric cannot cast a long shadow. I suspect most murderers serving life sentences harbor regret and are no longer the hot-headed young men who killed in a rage, but their victims are still dead and justice demands their punishment.
I often hear people quote one person and imply that the essence of that person can be summed in that ONE quote, ignoring all other deeds and words.
I'm not talking about a history of comments but one particular comment. Do you feel that one comment defines what the person is all about? Does it define you??
To the left it does, I mean look at what just happened with Bob Woodward.....
I often hear people quote one person and imply that the essence of that person can be summed in that ONE quote, ignoring all other deeds and words.
I'm not talking about a history of comments but one particular comment. Do you feel that one comment defines what the person is all about? Does it define you??
One statement can define a person. But the question was "does" one statement define a person. So I have to say no to that.
A person can make something of a personal mission statement that sums up all of what they're about, or the essence of what they feel is what defines them. But for someone else to take one of their statements and try to claim it defines that person is wrong.
That is not to say the abusive behavior and rhetoric cannot cast a long shadow. I suspect most murderers serving life sentences harbor regret and are no longer the hot-headed young men who killed in a rage, but their victims are still dead and justice demands their punishment.
Off topic but that's exactly why I oppose the death penalty even in cases where there is absolute proof the person is guilty. People can always change, and can do good even if they are in prison for life. They can work with psychologists and law enforcement to help understand crime, they can participate in those "scared straight" programs for at-risk kids, they can counsel other inmates, they can write books, they can give quotes and lend their name as a reformed convict to anti violence advocacy, etc. I say prison, life, no parole. But no execution.
After going head-to-head with the White House over the origins of the 'sequester,' Bob Woodward is receiving flak from Democrats while the conservatives count him as their 'new hero.'
Quote:
They’ve scoffed at reports that the hero of Watergate felt threatened by the White House’s own response to his charges.
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