Unthinking.

The worst thing that can happen to a person with cherished beliefs, whether they be political, religious or cultural, is to be confronted by history and the truth. So many of us are incapable of recognizing that not everything we care about is in reality worthy of that care, or for that matter, that the that the things we criticize or support are not completely and wholly right or wrong.

I was reminded of this when I heard the words of Jimmy Carter on Monday referring to wiretaps. Sure, it was a heinous violation that King was wiretapped, but Carter somehow forgot to remind the mourners that it was a Democrat--Bobby Kennedy--who authorized the wiretaps. So, Jimmy is just a bit of the demagogue. He's not evil so much as in many ways bitter and longing, I think, for some salvation to cleanse him of a failed presidency.

In much the same vein, Front Page Magazine has an interview with Oliver Kamm, a writer of keen intellect who is able to see his adversaries as complete human beings rather than one-dimensional caricatures. However, in this case, the place goes crazy because Kamm refuses to completely condemn both Susan Sontag and Noam Chomsky, two writers and "thinkers" that he has consistently criticized when warranted.

See, it's not enough to disagree or even to point out another's failed logic or deflate stupid rhetoric. Now, as the battle lines are drawn, we have to demonize all those with whom we disagree, which often leads us to tacitly agree with everything that is said from "our side."

Comments

[Rob]

Wasn't there another island had to evacuate completely 6-9 months ago? I really wish I hadn't lost the WordPress DB for the version of UnSpace before I switched hosts.

[Daniel]

Rob,

I'm not sure what you mean. Could you elaborate?

[Rob]

Ok, this is weird. There was an article on Froth Slosh B'Gosh I was replying to about the effect of global warming. How it wound up on your site is beyond me. Either I goofed up (I do have about 20 tabs open, I suppose it's possible) or Firefox is weird. It's been acting weird lately, so I'd believe that, too.

Sorry about that, however it happened.

[ckreiz]

Excellent comment, Daniel. We've entered the Echo Chamber Theory of History, the Coretta Scott King funeral being the most recent example. Unfortunately, it looks like the internet has enabled rather than diffused the trend. In the meantime, a smattering of independent thinkers are adrift, left to their own devices. It's somewhat reminiscent of unsuccessful labor union attempts to organize farmers in the first half of the twentieth century.