Best. Anti-idiotarian quote. Ever.
From US News & World Report's 2004-10-25 Angry in America:
"The divide has grown deeper as people have become more entrenched in their positions on the war and on terrorism," says Kohut. "They don't want to hear anything but what they want to hear. And when they do, they get hostile."
That's certainly what happened after Pete Thompson convinced his pal Alex Prywes to attend a screening of Fahrenheit 9/11 last summer. The two friends from San Francisco had sparred over politics in the past, "but we'd never really taken it too seriously," Prywes says. That changed, however, as they emerged from the movie.
"I don't really know, I fell asleep," responded Prywes, 28, who had promised himself before the movie that he wouldn't get into an argument.
Thompson was appalled that anyone could doze off in the face of such incendiary content. "I looked at him and thought, 'How can I have a conversation with this guy if he won't even look at the facts?' " says Thompson, who hasn't spoken to Prywes since. "Fundamentally, he's a good guy and stuff. But it's just not worth the aggravation."
That's the setup - here's the smackdown.
Prywes says he, too, has grown frustrated. "When I try to present contrary evidence for why I support Bush, rather than engaging in an intelligent discussion about the issues, I instead have to defend my own moral character," complains Prywes, "as if there was something defective about me." Of their fractured four-year friendship, he says, "It's no loss on my part. I actually felt like I was getting dumber every time I had to listen to him."
That just cracked me up. Way to go Prywes!