Warner Todd Huston
"Actor" Richard Belzer says U.S. troops uneducated
By Warner Todd Huston
On March 17th's episode of Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO, actor and comedian Richard Belzer claimed he is more educated about the war in Iraq than our troops who have been there. And claiming that our troops don't really know anything about the war in Iraq was not the only insult Belzer cast at the troops. (See Newsbusters.org)
"You think everyone over there is a college graduate? They're 19 and 20-year-old kids who couldn't get a job," he said disparaging the troops, to Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R Fla) on Maher's show.
In a condescending way, Belzer claimed he was much more informed than any US soldier because they don't read "twenty newspapers a day" like he apparently claims to do.
He told Representative Ros-Lehtinen that her step-son, currently serving in Iraq, isn't a "brilliant scholar about the war because he's there."
A little background on Belzer is illuminating. He is fascinated by conspiracy theories and UFO's and has hosted a series of TV shows exploring them. One of his album covers even features a picture of Lee Harvey Oswald, rifle on hip, with Belzer's face superimposed over Oswald's.
He is well known for his anti-Bush and anti-war sentiment while pushing the many Michael Moore-esque conspiracy theories about current events in which he believes.
Now at some level Belzer is correct to say that "being there" does not automatically equate to understanding the full length and breadth or the truth of a matter. It is absolutely true that one can be properly informed of a thing even without ever having experienced it. We can all know that murder or rape is bad without having been murdered or raped, after all.
But discounting the experience of our soldiers and relying solely on those "twenty newspapers a day" that Belzer claims he reads does not automatically make him more informed, either. Especially since the US press has done such a horrible job of reporting this war. Especially since their agenda of ending the war is so well known and their bias is so obviously on display causing their coverage to be lopsided and incomplete.
Further, we have to doubt Belzer's sincerity. Those who tout conspiracy theories are one of two kinds of people:
1- A liar who uses the conspiracies to gain power over the less intelligent or the mentally deficient and emotionally unstable. Men such as this know full well that their theories are BS but they use them anyway. Jessee Jackson and the "Reverend" Farrakhan are perfect examples of this. So is Pat Buchanan.
-or -
2- Those whom the people mentioned above con into believing the whole world is out to get them. These people usually believe in the conspiracy theory to mask their own sense of worthlessness or their own sense of helplessness and failure. It has to be everyone else against them, this person imagines, because THEY just can't seem to win. These people usually have severe mental disorders at worst or are mildly paranoid and lack self-esteem at best.
Either way, those who tout conspiracy theories are not very healthy or savory people. Which one Belzer is, the con man or the mentally ill dupe, is difficult to say. He does make a living off his ranting, so the con-man aura is all about him.
In any case, his ignorant belching of disrespect for the soldiers of the US military was imprudent and shows that he really doesn't know the make-up of our volunteer armed forces. These aren't the back-woods rubes drafted into the services like many past US forces have been. This is a volunteer force with much higher levels of education than any army we've ever had. (See this story)
Apparently this info was missing from Belzer's "twenty newspapers a day"? Which makes one wonder what other information he is missing about this war?
Perhaps Belzer might want to actually talk to a U.S. soldier about his experiences? Or, better yet, with all his money and his supposed stand as an "entertainer," perhaps he'd like to visit Iraq himself?
I guess we shouldn't expect that, though. Why the aliens might carry him off in their space ships if he tried that, you know?
© Warner Todd Huston
On March 17th's episode of Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO, actor and comedian Richard Belzer claimed he is more educated about the war in Iraq than our troops who have been there. And claiming that our troops don't really know anything about the war in Iraq was not the only insult Belzer cast at the troops. (See Newsbusters.org)
"You think everyone over there is a college graduate? They're 19 and 20-year-old kids who couldn't get a job," he said disparaging the troops, to Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R Fla) on Maher's show.
In a condescending way, Belzer claimed he was much more informed than any US soldier because they don't read "twenty newspapers a day" like he apparently claims to do.
He told Representative Ros-Lehtinen that her step-son, currently serving in Iraq, isn't a "brilliant scholar about the war because he's there."
A little background on Belzer is illuminating. He is fascinated by conspiracy theories and UFO's and has hosted a series of TV shows exploring them. One of his album covers even features a picture of Lee Harvey Oswald, rifle on hip, with Belzer's face superimposed over Oswald's.
He is well known for his anti-Bush and anti-war sentiment while pushing the many Michael Moore-esque conspiracy theories about current events in which he believes.
Now at some level Belzer is correct to say that "being there" does not automatically equate to understanding the full length and breadth or the truth of a matter. It is absolutely true that one can be properly informed of a thing even without ever having experienced it. We can all know that murder or rape is bad without having been murdered or raped, after all.
But discounting the experience of our soldiers and relying solely on those "twenty newspapers a day" that Belzer claims he reads does not automatically make him more informed, either. Especially since the US press has done such a horrible job of reporting this war. Especially since their agenda of ending the war is so well known and their bias is so obviously on display causing their coverage to be lopsided and incomplete.
Further, we have to doubt Belzer's sincerity. Those who tout conspiracy theories are one of two kinds of people:
1- A liar who uses the conspiracies to gain power over the less intelligent or the mentally deficient and emotionally unstable. Men such as this know full well that their theories are BS but they use them anyway. Jessee Jackson and the "Reverend" Farrakhan are perfect examples of this. So is Pat Buchanan.
-or -
2- Those whom the people mentioned above con into believing the whole world is out to get them. These people usually believe in the conspiracy theory to mask their own sense of worthlessness or their own sense of helplessness and failure. It has to be everyone else against them, this person imagines, because THEY just can't seem to win. These people usually have severe mental disorders at worst or are mildly paranoid and lack self-esteem at best.
Either way, those who tout conspiracy theories are not very healthy or savory people. Which one Belzer is, the con man or the mentally ill dupe, is difficult to say. He does make a living off his ranting, so the con-man aura is all about him.
In any case, his ignorant belching of disrespect for the soldiers of the US military was imprudent and shows that he really doesn't know the make-up of our volunteer armed forces. These aren't the back-woods rubes drafted into the services like many past US forces have been. This is a volunteer force with much higher levels of education than any army we've ever had. (See this story)
Apparently this info was missing from Belzer's "twenty newspapers a day"? Which makes one wonder what other information he is missing about this war?
Perhaps Belzer might want to actually talk to a U.S. soldier about his experiences? Or, better yet, with all his money and his supposed stand as an "entertainer," perhaps he'd like to visit Iraq himself?
I guess we shouldn't expect that, though. Why the aliens might carry him off in their space ships if he tried that, you know?
© Warner Todd Huston
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