When nonsense becomes the party line

Surfing past Fox News this morning, I heard someone report on a poll about what caused the massacre in Orlando. Apparently, most Republicans believe it was caused by Islamic extremism, whereas most Democrats believe it was caused by “domestic gun violence.”

But the massacre was domestic gun violence. Democrats might just as well say that murder caused the murders.

I learned in philosophy class that causation is, to a considerable degree, a social concept. Most events have multiple causes (or things that plausibly can be viewed as the cause). We select the one we would like to blame.

But long before I studied philosophy I understood the nonsensical nature of claiming that something caused itself. For Democrats, unfortunately, nonsense increasingly is the party line.

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