Pure Common Sense

Fox news commentator Judge Napolitano has recently committed political suicide by publicly associating himself with ridiculous 9/11 conspiracy theories.  He said in an interview that he questions what has come to be established as the obvious truth and Common Sense of the matter.

“I think 20 years from now, people will look at 9/11 the way they look at the assassination of JFK today,” he added, in an interview with radio host Alex Jones. “It couldn’t possibly have been done the way the government told us.”

I was surprised to hear that Fox, which typically holds a center-right tendency, will not be taking any action in response to these surprising comments.  I was personally shocked to hear these anti-Common Sense remarks coming from a man who has at times acted like a Common Sense warrior in the past.  I even own one of his books.  He has such a down-to-earth and vast knowledge of history, our Constitution and the way that the law should properly be carried out based on the principles the country was founded on.  He may not have directly stated that he believed 9/11 was an inside job but this is still too much of a step over the edge.  When he hints at lending undeserved credibility to crackpot conspiracy junk, he not only diminishes his own credibility but also the credibility of the other ideas he promotes as an individual.  The Common Sense warrior becomes a Common Sense liability and stands counterproductive to the spirit of what he champions.  I used to admire him a lot and now I need to be ashamed of that.

It is a shame that the Tea Party and the Campaign for Liberty find themselves infiltrated with conspiracy theorists and other fringe elements.  The traditionalist position stands against the tyranny of the status quo and that makes the position of liberty seem like that of an outsider sometimes.  This creates temptation to ally with others who feel like outsiders to build a stronger force.  9/11 Truthers are treated as fringe outsiders by the elite – and rightfully so, unlike the Tea Party movement.  However, they also have an anti-big government, anti-establishment streak to their rhetoric which deludes some into believing that the Truthers and the Tea Party should be allies.  All too many Tea Partiers carelessly accept them into their ranks and weaken the viability of their own positions.  It reinforces the fringe image of their platform propogated by elitists, propaganda artists and Big Media.  People like Judge Napolitano cripple themselves through such pandering.

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