The One-Ended Stick

 As we read articles in newspapers or magazines or listen to the TV, it is well to keep in mind what might be the biases in the presentation and to ask ourselves what data might be missing from the presentation.  Terminology can give some clues.

Thomas J. Fitzgerald is the Editor Emeritus of the newsletter of the Kingston Council of the Knights of Columbus.  In the April, 2006 issue, he writes about terminology used by the media in discussing politically incorrect issues.  Terminology will make it clear whether the writing is biased or unbiased.

He makes a particularly interesting comment about the Democrats that the media call "moderate."

He says:
“The analogy of the one-ended stick comes into play here.  This is the stick that represents the political spectrum as thought of by the politically correct.  It goes like this.  At the one and only end of the stick one finds the extremists.  This will vary depending on the topic under discussion.  Sometimes it is conservatives, sometimes it is Catholics, sometimes it is all Christians, sometimes it is pro-lifers.  Everyone else is a moderate, and they are in the middle of the stick.  Since there is no one left, the stick has no other end.”

An example of the logic gets very interesting.  If the right-wing extremists think that nobody should have the right to abortion on demand, then the left wing extremists must think that everybody should have the right to abortion on demand, no matter how young the pregnant girl is or how advanced a pregnancy is.

A moderate, by definition in the middle, would probably be saying, “Grown women can make their own choices, but I really think that young girls, any minors, should have parental permission before they are allowed to have surgical or medical procedures.  And surely we should restrict abortions to the first trimester.  When the baby could live if they would just deliver him or her, well, then an abortion at that point is barbaric.”

Doesn’t sound much like the “moderate” Democrats that are currently seeking “a middle ground,” does it?

Anne LeBlanc
RARTL
April, 2006

RARTL Updated July, 2006