Bias Side Note

A brief add on to the last post. As I've thought about the issue I think it's important to also point out there are some forms of bias and of expressing bias that are always unacceptable. The most common modern example is comparing people we disagree with to the Nazis.

Just the other day I was reading reviews on a Hitler biography and saw several references, irrelevant to the material, comparing Christians, Republicans and George Bush to the Third Reich. Thanks to the moveon.org crowd, these comparisons have become nearly mainstream in the last several years.

This type of bias does nothing but detract from debate. It ought to be possible to believe George Bush is wrong on everything and still recognize he is not Hitler. You should be able to be a card carrying atheist who believes the church a terrible institution and recognize the difference between the church down the street and the Nazi death camps.

I don't limit this criticism to the extreme left. More than once I've heard Hilary Clinton called Hitlery Clinton. For as much as I dislike the woman and am thankful she won't be president, that's wrong and inappropriate.

Hitler and his thugs are enjoying their just rewards in the afterlife. Let's leave them there, where they belong, and recognize that no matter what role bias has in history or public debate, this sort is NEVER ok.