History Quotes / GoldenMeanFallacy

-->--'''Creator/BillBailey'''

-->--'''UsefulNotes/BarryGoldwater''' accepting the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States in 1964

-->-- '''UsefulNotes/RichardDawkins'''

-->-- '''[[https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/21/weekend-opinionator-a-nation-of-cowards-stimulus-wielding-chimps-and-hip-hop-republicans/?apage=2#comment-97437 Paul Taylor]]'''

-->-- '''President Neutral''', ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''

-->-- '''Tycho Celchu''', ''[[Literature/XWingSeries Isard's Revenge]]''

-->-- '''Creator/IsaacAsimov''', ''[[https://web.archive.org/web/20210406134610/https://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm The Relativity of Wrong]]''

'''Sophie:''' That's true. Except for the Nazis. I can't really see the other side of that argument.
-->-- ''Film/MusicAndLyrics''

-->-- '''Creator/DaraOBriain'''

-->-- '''William Hazlitt''', "On Common-Place Critics"

-->-- '''Edward Abbey''', ''A Voice Crying In the Wilderness''

-->-- ''Series/{{Community}}''

-->-- ''Series/TheDailyShow''

-->-- '''Kosh''', ''Series/BabylonFive''

-->-- '''Barry Goldwater'''

-->-- ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'', [[TruthInTelevision President]] [[UsefulNotes/BarackObama Obama]] [[HilariousInHindsight parody]]

-->-- '''Jonah Goldberg''', ''The Tyranny of Cliches''

->'''Laverne:''' ''(during an argument over the war in Iraq)'' Ted, what do you think?\\

'''Dr Cox:''' Way to take a stand, sweat-balls.
-->-- ''Series/{{Scrubs}}''

-->- ''' Steven Dutch''' [[https://web.archive.org/web/20170822172321/https://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/PSEUDOSC/ScottAdams.HTM/ Suckered by Intelligent Design]]

->''"Two opposing sides don't necessarily have two compelling arguments. UsefulNotes/{{Martin Luther King|Jr}} spoke on that mall in the capital, and he didn't say, 'Remember, folks, those Southern sheriffs with the fire hoses and the German Shepherds, they have a point, too!' No, he said, 'I have a dream. They have a nightmare.' This isn't [[Literature/{{Twilight}} 'Team Edward' and 'Team Jacob']]."''
-->-- '''Bill Maher''', ''Series/RealTimeWithBillMaher''

->'''Hostage's Mother:''' The media are trying to spin this man into some kind of hero...\\

-->-- ''Mad City''

-->-- ''Series/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents, The Penultimate Peril Part 2''

-->-- '''Creator/BillBailey'''

-->-- '''Benjamin Studebaker''', [[https://benjaminstudebaker.com/2013/01/04/intellectual-hipsters-centrists/ "Intellectual Hipsters: Centrists"]]

-->-- '''Creator/JohnOliver''', ''Series/LastWeekTonightWithJohnOliver''

-->-- '''UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan'''

->''[T]he conception of a bipolar political world has been similarly replaced by a prevalent worldview which rests on the belief that the world is in the grip of [[UsefulNotes/ColdWar a contest]] between [[UsefulNotes/TheUnitedStates two]] [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn superpowers]]. These superpowers contend for dominance and resemble one another in key respects. This image of moral and political symmetry has gained a wide acceptance not only in the Third World, but also among our allies and ourselves. Of my own statements about the false nature of this image, a colleague has said, “She talks about the moral differences between the superpowers, and when we fail to find any moral difference between Afghanistan and Grenada she makes it clear that we are dimwitted.” I believe that anyone who fails to see a difference between Grenada and Afghanistan is not only seriously mistaken but very seriously confused, and that their confusion is a direct consequence of the Soviets’ colossally effective assault on the realms of value and meaning which our civilization holds dear.''
-->-- '''Jeane Kirkpatrick,''' ''[[https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/the-myth-of-moral-equivalence/ The Myth of Moral Equivalence]]''

-->-- '''[[Literature/BookOfRevelation Revelation 3:15 KJV]]'''

-->-- '''UsefulNotes/MalcolmX'''

-->-- '''L. Neil Smith''', ''[[https://ncc-1776.org/tle2007/tle401-20070114-03.html Am I the NRA?]]''

-->-- ''UsefulNotes/MartinLutherKingJr'', '''[[http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html Letter from a Birmingham Jail ]]'''

-->-- ''Series/{{Glee}}'', "Sectionals"

-->-- '''UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill'''

-->-- '''@/TobiasDrake''', [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13103447000a18674100&page=14414#comment-360341 The General US Politics Thread]]

-->-- '''Website/{{Cracked}}''', [[https://www.cracked.com/blog/the-single-most-entitled-reaction-to-modern-problems The Single Most Entitled Reaction To Modern Problems]]

->Ah, yes, ''this'' argument. "Oh there's been a lot of conflicting data sources, we might never know the real answer, I've had so many different claims from so many different people[[DeterioratesIntoGibberish brlblblblblbl!]]" ''That'' is the dying calls of someone who has realized that what they believed was ''wrong'', and is now having to admit it, but doesn't have the fucking '''BALLS''' to do it! This fucker ''knows'' that the 600,000 number [of troops at the start of Russia's invasion] is wrong, he ''fucking knows!'' He's smart enough to read the UN reports and the fucking Ministry of Defense of Ukraine's official website, and know ''exactly'' what the number is, but he's not ready to admit that, ''in his mind'', [[PropagandaMachine Russian Propaganda]], weirdo {{conspiracy theorist}}s, the UN ''AND A FUCKING '''CHILD RAPIST'''''[[labelnote:*]]former Marine Corps intelligence officer and convicted sexual harasser Scott Ritter[[/labelnote]] ARE [[GreyAndGrayInsanity ALL EQUAL LEVELS OF CREDIBILITY!]]
-->-- '''[=LazerPig=]''', on [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz13lPUVBUI the Gonzalo Lira round table]]

-->-- '''John Galt''', ''Literature/AtlasShrugged''

Again, it is true that an English aristocrat can hardly enter fully into the feelings of either party in a quarrel between a Russian Jew and an Orthodox procession carry- ing relics ; but Vane's idea that the procession might carry the Jew as well, himself a venerable and historic relic, was misunderstood on both sides.\\

-->'''Ed Yong''', ''[[https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/should-science-journalists-take-sides Not Exactly Rocket Science]]''

--> '''Dara Ó Briain'''

->'''Creator/JonStewart:''' But that's just innuendo, and that can't be the only thing in a news story!
->'''Creator/StephenColbert:''' Can't it? I ask you: Does Jon Stewart orally pleasure teamsters for pocket change?
->'''Jon:''' ...N-no.
->'''Stephen:''' Well, you are certainly entitled to that opinion. But I bet I can assemble an impressive panel that thinks you do. The truth lies somewhere in between. Let's talk about it for eight weeks and let the public decide.
-->-- '''''Series/TheDailyShow'''''

-->--'''Mad City'''

->"There are two sides to every issue: one side is right and the other is wrong, but the middle is always evil."

->''I decline utterly to be impartial between the fire engine and the fire.''

->Ah, yes, ''this'' argument. "Oh there's been a lot of conflicting data sources, we might never know the real answer, I've had so many different claims from so many different people[[DeterioratesIntoGibberish brlblblblblbl!]]" ''That'' is the dying calls of someone who has realized that what they believed was ''wrong'', and is now having to admit it, but doesn't have the fucking '''BALLS''' to do it! This fucker ''knows'' that the 600,000 number [of troops at the start of Russia's invasion] is wrong, he ''fucking knows!'' He's smart enough to read the UN reports and the fucking Ministry of Defense of Ukraine's official website, and know ''exactly'' what the number is, but he's not ready to admit that, ''in his mind'', [[PropagandaMachine Russian Propaganda]], weirdo {{conspiracy theorist}}s, the UN ''AND A FUCKING '''CHILD RAPIST'''''[[labelnote:*]]former Marine Corps intelligence officer and convicted sexual harasser Scott Ritter[[/labelnote]] ARE [[BlackAndWhiteInsanity ALL EQUAL LEVELS OF CREDIBILITY!]]

->Ah, yes, ''this'' argument. "Oh there's been a lot of conflicting data sources, we might never know the real answer, I've had so many different claims from so many different people[[DeterioratesIntoGibberish brlblblblblbl!]" ''That'' is the dying calls of someone who has realized that what they believed was ''wrong'', and is now having to admit it, but doesn't have the fucking '''BALLS''' to do it! This fucker ''knows'' that the 600,000 number [of troops at the start of Russia's invasion] is wrong, he ''fucking knows!'' He's smart enough to read the UN reports and the fucking Ministry of Defense of Ukraine's official website, and know ''exactly'' what the number is, but he's not ready to admit that, ''in his mind'', [[PropagandaMachine Russian Propaganda]], weirdo {{conspiracy theorist}}s, the UN ''AND A FUCKING '''CHILD RAPIST'''''[[labelnote:*]]former Marine Corps intelligence officer and convicted sexual harasser Scott Ritter[[/labelnote]] ARE [[BlackAndWhiteInsanity ALL EQUAL LEVELS OF CREDIBILITY!]]

->'''Laverne:''' (during an argument over the war in Iraq) Ted, what do you think?\\

->'''Sophie:''' I hate infection. But then again, who likes them? Maybe the people who make penicillin.
->'''Alex:''' Well, there's two sides to every story.
->'''Sophie:''' That's true. Except for the Nazis. I can't really see the other side of that argument.

->'''Laverne:''' (during an argument over the war in Iraq) Ted, what do you think?
->'''Ted:''' I think both sides have valid points.
->'''Dr Cox:''' Way to take a stand, sweat-balls.

->'''Hostage's Mother:''' The media are trying to spin this man into some kind of hero...
->'''[[NewscasterCameo Larry King]]:''' I think we've made a real effort to present all perspectives of--
->'''Mother:''' [[ArmorPiercingQuestion Since when do we need "all perspectives" of a]] ''[[ArmorPiercingQuestion crime]]''[[ArmorPiercingQuestion ?]]

->'''Violet:''' Fire!
->'''Babs:''' Fire?? Oh no! Nononono!
->'''Jerome:''' I think the stairs are this way!
->'''Babs:''' I think the stairs are ''that'' way!
->'''Jerome:''' I don't like to argue. Let's compromise and just stand here.
-->--''Series/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents, The Penultimate Peril Part 2''

-->--'''Creator/BillBailey'''

-->--'''Benjamin Studebaker''', [[https://benjaminstudebaker.com/2013/01/04/intellectual-hipsters-centrists/ "Intellectual Hipsters: Centrists"]]

-->--'''Creator/JohnOliver''', ''Series/LastWeekTonightWithJohnOliver''

-->--'''UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan'''

->''I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a “more convenient season.” Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.''

-->-- ''' [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Website/Cracked Cracked]] ''',[[https://www.cracked.com/blog/the-single-most-entitled-reaction-to-modern-problems The Single Most Entitled Reaction To Modern Problems]]

->''Finally! Something ''normal''. Enough of those ramblings -- in this world there is also a ''sensible'' ideology for people who simply want to do good by everyone. How? By looking at the options on the table and saying: no. I don't want any of those associated with me. I just want to play a regular, inconsequential, doesn't-really-believe-in-anything type of detective.\\\
Well, you're in luck! After the commies and the fascas tag teamed Revachol, ''sensible'' foreign nations with ''moderately'' deadly artillery came and levelled the city, put all the commies against a neutral wall and turned Revachol into a debt colony / financial buffer zone / whatever the hell they want it to be. They rule the world. And also the RCM, the law enforcement agency you’re part of, so really -- it's a no brainer.\\\

->At its core, centrism is about the idea that there are two sides to any situation that both need to be considered. It's logical. It's reasonable. But it ignores the possibility that one of the sides ''might just be wrong''. Sometimes people lie. Sometimes they're spinning a narrative. Sometimes they're straight up trying to defend the indefensible.

->If I say the sky is blue and someone else says the sky is red, the responsible thing to do is not to decide the sky must be purple as a compromise between the two positions. The responsible thing to do is to look out the window, see that the sky is clearly blue, and question what the fuck that other guy's on about.
-->-- '''@/TobiasDrake''', [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13103447000a18674100&page=14414 The General US Politics Thread]]

-->-- '''[[http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/21/weekend-opinionator-a-nation-of-cowards-stimulus-wielding-chimps-and-hip-hop-republicans/?apage=2#comment-97437 Paul Taylor]]'''

-->-- '''Creator/IsaacAsimov''', ''[[http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm The Relativity of Wrong]]''

-->'''Ed Yong''', ''[[http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2010/09/23/should-science-journalists-take-sides/ Not Exactly Rocket Science]]''

-->- ''' Steven Dutch''' [[http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/PSEUDOSC/ScottAdams.HTM Suckered by Intelligent Design]]

->''I urge you to beware the temptation of pride, the temptation of blithely declaring yourselves above it all and label both sides equally at fault, to ignore the facts of history and the aggressive impulses of [[TheEmpire an evil empire]], to simply call the arms race a giant misunderstanding and thereby remove yourself from [[BlackAndWhiteMorality the struggle between right and wrong and good and evil]].''

->''"If Creator/{{CNN}} did sports reporting, every game would be a tie.''"
-->-- '''Cenk Uygur''' of ''Radio/TheYoungTurks'', in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MQ2a032OUE this]] clip.