Letters to the Editor
Ben Sen
Published Letters: 539 Editor's Choice: 97
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Falling For Dirty Tricks
[Read the article: The Swift Boating of Hillary Clinton?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]There always seems to be some convoluted "spin" when you bring up the Clintons Mr. Grieve. Your ambivalance is clear. You think after all those years in Washington they aren't going to be connected to "Beltway" politics? You think perhaps that is the measure of the best candidate--the less and fewer they know the better?
It's a form of "liberal" demonization--a garbled call for a third party--that makes no sense given the circumstances. Yeah, we know blogland politics and opinions are pure at heart, blah, blah, blah.
You think maybe they shouldn't get "ahead" of another "Swift Boat" maneuver by the Republicans? That's what made Kerry a fool, and all the nitwits in the media who fell for it. I'm somewhat fearful at this point you're going to be a sucker when the dirty tricks begin again.
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No Network, No Boss, No Constituency
[Read the article: The Internet is making us stupid]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I'm not sure where this ends up. It reminds me of so much that was said about television--the harbinger of intellectual degradation--which proved party true and party false.
Mr. Sunstein doesn't seem to be suggesting anything that can be "done" about the problem except recognizing it for what it is--a reflection of larger patterns that will have their way regardless of the medium.
I agree that understanding the opposition is necessary and accepting that they are as transfixed by the group dynamic on the right as well as the left. But I'm not sure using the idea as a context for Obama is such a good idea. (Unless maybe you want a job from him.) Edwards and Hillary are candidates who also get the point and practice it.
But so what? The "cause" of the problem goes deeper than the medium. I think he establishes that inadvertently. The psychology of the "right," and "left" (an arbitrary polarity in the first place) is consistent throughout history and cultures. What else is new? The group seems to thrive on opposition--or demonization as it is now called. If it's not the lady across the street who lets her dog poop on your lawn it's those damn pinkos who want free health insurance.
The blogs have made it possible for the first time for those who do not have a platform in the media or at an institution to show what they have to offer on the basis of merit alone, and that is what makes it exciting to me. It expands the dialogue to include those who have nothing else at stake--no network, no boss, no constituency.
That's a "freedom" I'm not sure we've seen before and that is what makes it interesting in tracking its impact. It is actually an opportunity to see what "ordinary" people think without the usual agendas.
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One Bomb Away
[Read the article: Bush's old world disorder]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]This sounds a little bit like declaring victory, Sidney, and I'm sure you don't mean that.
It could all turn around in a flash--literally and figuratively. One well placed suicide bomber could be all it takes. Can't you hear the fearmongers wailing across the TV's now? They still have the bully pulpet. It wouldn't matter that they've been totally disgraced. Instead of saying stop, go back in your holes, the media would dutifully let them get away with it and the bombs would fly.
The ignorance, fear and militancy that kept the neocons in power hasn't changed. There is no similar "movement" among liberals, or so called liberals, and their ability to flake out under pressure is well established. We are in an epoch of triumphantalism and epochs don't disappear easily, even in the face of overwhelming evidence that it is a trick promulgated by the master class.
What I love about the "revolt" against Musharraf is that it is led by lawyers. Could you imagine that in this country? (I don't mean to disparage lawyers who want peace, please.) The smartest thing we've done for peace in this country is open the door of our educational system to immigrants.
The US is by and large an attorney led country, which is a good thing, but the idea they'd roll up their sleeves and put out their necks "en mass" is no longer a thought let alone an action.
Maybe the lawyers of Pakistan will give them ideas and it will spread in the Muslim world. History is more complex than can be imagined in advance. I think it's safer and wiser to assume the worst until the day the Democrats are in charge and a new game begins.