Letters to the Editor
William Timberman
Published Letters: 3298 Editor's Choice: 7
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I Don't Think So
[Read the article: Did David Broder "prop up" the Bush presidency?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]adnoto: In the end the only way to hold these people accountable is through force. It has ever been thus. Perhaps some of you will one day realize this but I am not holding my breath.
I can't tell whether this is despair or wishful thinking on your part, but it's not true, manifestly not true. You'll pardon me, I hope, but the problem with formulations like yours is that they ignore the fact that civilization is a process which transcends the lives of individuals. Do you think that Solzhenitsyn actually expected to survive the Gulags? Did the Jews in Auschwitz who kept lists? Did Martin Luther King? In one of the most powerful parables of the Bible, Moses was forbidden a glimpse of the Promised Land. Is this a reason to belittle any of their efforts?
Should we condemn a process which doesn't feature us as individuals at its center? I think not. We're obligated to do what we can, and if we're wise, not to whine about not personally receiving the benefits of our labors. Holding the powerful accountable isn't necessarily a matter of shooting your way into their courtyards; if you're successful, you may drink all the wine in the tyrant's cellar, and rape all his female relatives, but then what?
If history is any guide, you next set about protecting the revolution from its real or imagined enemies. Martial law is declared; in time, someone becomes President-for-Life, and the cycle begins again.
The slow way is the safe way. Persuade others, be prepared for setbacks, be content to hand on the torch if you come to end before the struggle itself does. Democracy isn't a video game.
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Force Isn't a Synonym for Courage
[Read the article: Did David Broder "prop up" the Bush presidency?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]adnoto, tiptap:
Trust me, I'm not longing for martyrdom, nor dishonoring those who've gone before us, but this business of using force whenever you aren't getting what you want is a mug's game. Peace doesn't mean servility; if you've convinced yourself that it does, you might as well join Bush's legions; they'll have a place for you, I'm sure.
Political conflict in a democracy sometimes leads to violence, but no one but a young man with no experience of the consequences would wish for it at the first opportunity. Jefferson understood this as well as I do.
As for the Black Panthers, I was around when they were, and knew some of them. The good that they did was symbolic; when the symbolism turned to shootouts, they were lost. A great pity, and not at all their fault, but the truth remains: the framework of democracy bequeathed to us should be used when it's useful, and abandoned only under great duress.
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Sigh....
[Read the article: Did David Broder "prop up" the Bush presidency?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Adnoto, I'm no stranger to direct action. I was in the streets before you were born, assuming you're younger than forty. I have no objection to it in principle. But please spare me your this isn't a democracy hysteria. Look at the results of the last election.
You want to organize revolutionary combat brigades, be my guest. I have a much clearer idea of what would happen to you afterwards than you do, whether you realize it or not. As for my being too comfortable to do anything, that's pretty damned presumptious of you, and frankly, typical of your whole approach. Only your apocalyptic vision is serious; those who disagree are pussies. If that's all so, what are you doing here -- are these comments of yours being made from a secret safe house, or do you just like talking about the blood of tyrants.
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I don't recognize this particular namesake
[Read the article: Did David Broder "prop up" the Bush presidency?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Well, I was never a fan of the BeeGees, unless my memory is worse than I think. Perhaps there's more than one of us.
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Yep.
[Read the article: Did David Broder "prop up" the Bush presidency?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Nancy? Hard to tell from the handle. But God, the BeeGees? You tryin' to ruin my rep, or what? Somebody's gonna think I ran around in a white suit or something.
Ah, well, I've hogged enough of this thread already. If it's you, glad to see you've kept the faith. The nature of which, as you can see, is a matter of contention with the younger generation at the moment.
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Not Agreed
[Read the article: Did David Broder "prop up" the Bush presidency?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Adnoto, I believe you've misunderstood me -- perhaps I've also misunderstood you. The word at the heart of it seems to be force.
Be that it as it may, I'm afraid I can't agree not to comment on anything which appears here -- it's a forum after all. I can promise you, though, that any comments of mine will be directed to the substance of the comment, and not to the person making it.
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Omigod!
[Read the article: Did David Broder "prop up" the Bush presidency?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Mona, I have an excuse; I was outed. You've actually confessed, in public, and we didn't even have to use a rubber hose. I should say for the record that I remember nothing, I admit nothing, and I wasn't there at the time. Next thing you know, somebody'll post an old photo of me boogying to The Strawberry Alarm Clock, and all will be lost forever.
Now I remember why people use handles; what I don't know, Mona is why you refuse to take full advantage of yours.... :-)
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Don't Be Silly
[Read the article: Did David Broder "prop up" the Bush presidency?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Indiscreet -- no way. You've been perfectly charming, and I'd honestly forgotten that first album. Maybe it was their disco phase that wiped it out of my memory, d'ya think?
Anyway, no need to disappear for another ten years unless you want to:
timberman at symbol cableone.net
(No dount the bots have gotten a lot smarter since I last had my e-mail on an open webpage, but the text version above is my feeble attempt to avoid them.)
All the best....