WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?

We are not engaging in a Liberal-lynching.
I'm not about to rail against a politician whose policies and actions I don't know (I haven't ever really paid attention to politics)
What I am talking about is how much I fucking hate this shiny, all-new, bright, exciting modern age of social media and having your shoes synched to your phone, which is synched to your laptop, which is synched to your tablet(s) and your MP3 player and your car, which is also synched to your MP3 player and your phone, and it's all linked to the Cloud, and everyone can see the great family tree of your electronics... And thereby see all of your schoolwork, your job, your occupation, your home, your family, your bills, your car, etc. etc. etc.

I've been annoyed at the way our world views news- excuse me: the "news"- and responds to it.

"What difference does it make?"
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was in a hearing to discuss the failure to warn of, safeguard against, or tell the truth about, the Ben Ghazi incident. She *did* give that quote; however, the Conservative side of the media and the Internet has turned it into a meme by MISQUOTING the Secretary of State.
Yes, this does sound much like she's saying that the incident isn't that big a deal, that it makes no difference why someone perpetrated an attack which killed four Americans. However, that's NOT the truth. The FULL quote is as follows:
""What difference, at this point, does it make? It is our *job* to figure out what happened, and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again, Senator."

She didn't just say, "Yeah, what difference does it make what happened? Fuck it; it doesn't matter."
What she did was ask the question, "What difference does it make?" in order to then answer her own question by saying that it is the United States' Government's JOB to figure out what happened. Just like if you're explaining a concept to someone, you might say, "Why do we wear helmets in football? So that we don't have massive head injuries every play!" (just pulled that example out of thin fucking air- *very* thin air, clearly)

It's frustrating that people are taking the misquote (lying by omission is still a LIE, so this is a misquote) as Gospel truth and railing against the Secretary, but as I said I don't know much about Secretary Clinton. No; it infuriates me because it's indicative of something which has infuriated me more and more with every passing day, and has been reaching critical mass of anger lately:
People don't think.

1) People see this quote, "What difference does it make?" and they take it and run. Instantly, without pausing to think about it- let alone research it and see if there was more said around that clipped quote- they post angry comments. I've literally seen comments saying they hope that "that slut" dies soon; men and women calling her every foul name; "she should quit now, but while she's at it take her boss down first!" NONE of these people understand what they're talking about; Conservative media doesn't like Hillary Clinton, so they took only that part of the quote and went into outraged rants.
Yes, with just that bit of the quote, I can see how it's inflammatory. If that had really been what the Secretary was saying, I would be furious as well. However, IT WASN'T. They completely omitted two thirds of the quote- and the rest of the quote shows, quite clearly, that she wasn't dismissing the investigation as unimportant. But no, these people are Conservative, and they've seen what their Conservative reporters and politicians *want* them to see, and that's what they run with.
Then, speak a single word in defense- not in defense of the woman, but in defense of common sense, and combating the extreme ignorance displayed here- and you'll be dissed and smeared and discarded and insulted and patronized; they'll say that it's so sad you believe everything the Liberal Media brainwashes us with. They think that they're the only ones who see the world how it *is*, and that the Liberal Government and the Liberal Media are conspiring to brainwash and train and control the population.
I'm not saying that Liberals aren't guilty of this sort of thing as well; they are. All I'm saying is that maybe when you hear a bad quote like that, something highly incendiary, maybe before you go off and rant about it and start calling for executions and dismissal and wishing disease and pestilence on someone, maybe you should THINK about it, and research what really went on.

2) I already touched on this, but let's go in further:
People don't THINK anymore. People see what their friends say; they listen to whatever news program they watch (which they watch because it agrees with what they believe); they *sometimes* see what the opposition is saying. And then they blast off and shout hate and intolerance and ignorance at full volume. (oh- they only look at the opposition's position so that they can say that they're lying about everything and use quotes to say so)
I'm NOT claiming that I'm blameless here; I've done this a few times. Twice recently, I've re-posted something- usually a meme with a quote- and then something about it didn't seem right, or someone said that they didn't think it was correct. So I did what a responsible, reasonable adult would do: I Googled the quote to see the circumstances around it, what the accurate quote is, and how it became distorted. Three minutes on Google each time, and I had at least two trustworthy (not Wikipedia or Yahoo! Answers) sources telling me exactly what the original quote was. Once I knew, I apologized on the incorrect posts and took them down.
But no. Confront a far-Left-Wing or a far-Right-Wing believer with evidence which says they're wrong, and they'll tell you that the source clearly isn't credible, because that's clearly biased media! So, if you pull information from polar media which gives the same numbers, they'll still find a way to ignore it and continue in their ignorance.

People do not think. They don't. They do not use a gram of common sense; there is no logic behind their decisions; reason and rationale? Please, don't speak such words- they bring tears to my eyes, I miss them so much.
I believe that I should be allowed to bear any fucking "arm" I want to; I trust myself to be perfectly safe walking through Central Park with a 240G and two full boxes of linked 7.62mm belts ready to go. I trust myself to hold the end of the barrel of a .50 caliber rifle, or machine gun, to a small child's temple- while in Condition One- and I would trust myself and be confident in my ability to not shoot that child. However, there are many people in this country to whom I would not give a toothpick if a child was within 10 feet of them. And as such, I find myself making a compromise on the side of safety- a decision I don't like, but one I can live with: fine, if you're terrified of these weapons and won't stop treating me like a criminal until I relinquish them, then okay. Magazines? Let's be honest: there is absolutely NO reason you *need* 30 rounds when you're plinking targets. Now, no, I don't have to have 250hp in my car; people don't need to go 208mph; they don't need motorcycles; they don't need alcohol, or cigarettes, or most prescription drugs (which are often misused), but honestly, if this measure will give us a bit of peace- and hopefully will be revoked when they realize it hasn't actually made the country safer- then fine. Go ahead.
But I am deep, deep in the minority. Left-Wing-ers are trying to ban all weapons; Right-Wing-ers want to hunt rabbits with .50 cal Barrett rifles. And NO ONE will compromise. NO ONE will admit that maybe, for the GREATER GOOD of the entire fucking country, we should concede a few points.
No.
No, everyone is hardcore Left or Right. There is no compromise, no concessions, no allowances, no understanding.

And it ALL comes from one thing:

PEOPLE DON'T USE COMMON SENSE.
Sheeple. Fucking idiots.

THINK.
We have evolved such that we have risen to the *top* of the food chain. (or were created as such;' whatever. That's an argument for another day- or a week or so) Why? Nearly every creature in the Animal Kingdom is faster and stronger; they can smell far better than we; they can live on food which would kill us; how did we survive to come on top?
But we did. Not only did we survive, we conquered. We pwned the natural predators. We keep tigers and Boa Constrictors and Pythons and lions as fucking PETS. How?! As we all know, a tiger- one-on-one, bare-hands- would literally mop the floor with any human in the world... yet, we are somehow superior to them.
How?
Because humans THINK. Humans reason; they plan; they ponder; they wonder. Mankind has succeeded to the point of excess and comfort because we can imagine, we can dream, we can analyze, and WE CAN THINK. We are logical and reasonable and sensible and analytical. (when we want to be)
So why now, at what we seem to think is the pinnacle of our race's civilization, WHY are we dumber than we've been since Feudalism in the Middle Ages?! Why can't people THINK FOR THEMSELVES?

DON'T BE SHEEPLE.