The Physical Cliff
Lunch is usually a sandwich standing at the kitchen sink, or a coffee and Payday bar behind the steering wheel. Today, I decided stop for lunch at the counter in a local Denny's.
CNN was on the set next to the register, and the gal at the anchor desk was smirking over something Speaker Boehner had just said in his two-second remarks before the press.
A waitress to my right asked, "What's a physical cliff?"
My personality type lets me talk to anyone about anything. What a great opportunity to spread some conservative fact to a stranger. Today, though, I held my tongue and stuffed my mouth with seasoned fries. I immediately realized that if this woman, citizen, tax payer, and constituent didn't already know and understand the significance of the fiscal disaster facing the nation, it didn't matter.
Any suggestion I could make about the waitress's news consumption habits would be a crude and ridiculous assumption. She could watch the major news broadcasters regularly for all I know. Maybe that's my point.
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Jun '12
Re: The Physical Cliff
"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter" Winston Churchill
Dec '11
Re: The Physical Cliff
In my judgment the best response would be,
“President Obama intends to raise taxes on your boss. Were you hoping for a raise next year?”
Feb '11
Re: The Physical Cliff
And from your reactions you wonder why Republicans lose?
Dec '10
Re: The Physical Cliff
I would have been tempted to explain that "the fiscal cliff is what we're about to go over now that we've re-elected President Obama," and then hand her a $10 tip, while telling her to spend it now, because next year it won't buy her $2.50 worth of this year's merchandise.
Either that or tell her that the "physical cliff" is caused by Obamacare, and she'll know she's fallen off it when she has to schedule her free annual physical two years in advance.
Jul '12
Re: The Physical Cliff
Yeah, but when it comes to inane arguments over physical cliffs I have my lemmings. When the well-informed are engaged in silly arguments, my heart is with the ignorant. As long as they keep they keep the coffee coming.
I suspect if you'd explained it she might have said something like "how foolish." Sort of like a friend's wise comment after getting the low-down from me on Steve Forbes for President (2000 version): "oh he'll never get elected. He makes too much sense."
(Re: Paules. "Every single person." Really? Oh. Come. On. Funny, though.)
Mar '12
Re: The Physical Cliff
An Obama voter outed by herself. Impressive! Most impressive!!
Jun '10
Re: The Physical Cliff
~Paules
Everyone understood the issues at stake in the election of 1860. Every single person. And again in 1864. Nobody was voting for bromides like "hope and change." · 2 hours ago
I'm with Barkha, I find that hard to believe.
In any case in the Founders' era the waitress in question would not have been eligible to vote, so it's an apples-to-oranges comparison.
The Founding Fathers did not much trust democracy, that's why only one half of one branch of the Federal government (i.e. the House) was directly elected by the people.
Edited on December 20, 2012 at 8:45pmAug '10
Re: The Physical Cliff
Joseph Stanko
The Founding Fathers did not much trust democracy, that's why only one half of one branch of the Federal government (i.e. the House) was directly elected by the people.
Which is why I usually lead off with "repeal the 17th Amendment" when asked what quick fixes I would make to our current political system.
It's a lonely crusade against one of the lesser known evils of the Progressive movement. But I like to think I earn nerd points for obscure arguments.
Aug '10
Re: The Physical Cliff
Cal, the waitress actually asked you this question? Why would you pass up an opportunity to tell someone something it's in your interest to have her know? (By the way, while I know it isn't "physical cliff ", I have no idea what the fiscal cliff is either. I'll read about it on about.com before I head off to my housekeeping job in the morning.)
Edited on December 21, 2012 at 4:26amMay '10
Re: The Physical Cliff
Ansonia: Cal, the waitress actually asked you this question? Why would you pass up an opportunity to tell someone something it's in your interest to have her know? (By the way, while I know it isn't "physical cliff ", I have no idea what the fiscal cliff is either. I'll read about it on about.com before I head off to my housekeeping job in the morning.) · 1 hour ago
Edited 28 minutes ago
Nice try, but you lose. Thanks for playing!
Aug '10
Re: The Physical Cliff
I'm only half kidding. Jonah Goldberg and Glenn Reynolds (12/14/12 : More Thinking Like This Please) are right. With a certain famous story about Churchill in mind, before Monday I'm giving a subscription of Verily to a kind and beautiful young Hispanic woman I know who works at a gas station while raising six kids.
Edited on December 21, 2012 at 10:29pmMar '11
Re: The Physical Cliff
Which is why we need to stop encouraging "everyone" to vote and making it easy with early voting and no-cause absentee voting.
Voting should require enough interest on the part of the voter to be willing to put a minimal amount of effort into it.
Aug '10
Re: The Physical Cliff
And that, Normie, is the truth !
Feb '12
Re: The Physical Cliff
Yep. I am continually shocked at how utterly clueless so many of my fellow VOTING citizens are. No wonder Dems want even MORE people to vote.
Aug '10
Re: The Physical Cliff
Re comment # 34True. I'm only saying a well informed person should--at the very least--kindly answer politely asked questions. You more knowledgable people should judge less and teach more.
Edited on December 23, 2012 at 3:30pmCertainly it's evil we've all been brainwashed to believe we have an obligation to vote no matter how uninformed we are.