1. The tone and content of my previous Fisking Sullivan post might lead people to believe that the whole was an attack on Sullivan.
[Fisk] might well be hated by the war-mongering, empire-addicted elements of the right because his skilful and widely recognised reporting of the ‘reality’ that they despise so much.
An Oxfam poll of 704 randomly selected Afghans reveals untold suffering– 1 in 5 say they’ve been tortured, three quarters have been forced to leave their homes at some point in the endless civil war, 43% have had property destroyed. The survey also has what would seem to be some moderately encouraging findings regarding the counterinsurgency: 70% see unemployment and poverty as a key driver of civil war; 48% blame the government’s weakness and corruption; 36% point to the Taliban; 25% to interference by neighboring countries; just 18% to the presence of international forces; another 18% to d al Qaeda– and another 17% to the lack of support from the international community. After 30 years of civil war, only 3% named the current conflict as the most harmful period (though the report cautions that areas where the current fighting is worst are underrepresented).
The point is not to go after the unhinged ones but to try and identify the habits that are giving rise to the unhingedness. It is relatively easy (and futile) to mock and knock down the arguments of pathological war mongers. While they may represent a kind of thinking in concentrated form, it couldn’t be so effective in setting the agenda if it didn’t gain traction in centrists.
It seems plausible to me that Sullivan lost his balance in the aftermath of the 911 attacks (when he wrote his ‘Fisking’ post). In recognition of this Sullivan is famous for posting dissenting views on his blog, but I think this mitigates rather than addressing the problem, which must be to critically examine our own passions. Despite all the warnings Sullivan is feeding the Palin troll, just as he get captured by the war-mongers before. It enabled the lunies then and it is doing so again today, in a different way. It would be nice to see Fisk and his philosophy properly appreciated by the centrists that don’t seem to understand how war-mongering is deeply embedded in our culture’s habits of thought.
2. To underline this point, although I critiqued Bryan Appleyard in a previous post I responded to today’s defensive post on his blog with a heart-felt expression of appreciation.
3.This post from Chris Bertram at Crooked Timber, attacking their commenter en masse, must be one of the most ill-advised posts I have seen on a major blog in a long time. It doesn’t say anything that isn’t fairly obvious, is whinny and engages in some of the worst practices it seeks to criticise in getting personal in at least one place.
4. It may be fashionable among bloggers to moan about the quality of the press and pat ourselves on the back but the columns by Maureen Dowd and Frank Rich in today’s Times on the Palin phenomenon were I thought sublime. Obama’s and Palin’s inexperience became linked in the campaign. They also clearly connect with their base in a way that goes beyond the rational, being figure-heads for cultural forces. Dowd runs with the psychological angle and Rich the cultural perspective. Dowd proposes that Obama learn from Palin’s success; Rich warns that without some remedial action, the political landscape may become more receptive to the Palin populist phenomenon. Commentary of this quality is still quite rare in the more reactive (and complacent?) blogosphere.
5.William Polk’s guest contribution today Juan Cole’s Informed Comment is a good advertisement for blogging. The article is a little long but it provides a thoroughly realistic assessment of what Obama should be doing in Afghanistan from somebody who both understands the neighbourhood and has significant experience in formulating US foreign policy. His warning about the danger to the Republic should be taken seriously.
Blogging Notes
But yesterday Sullivan in a post entitled The Wages of Endless War quoted this from Andrew Sprung:
The point is not to go after the unhinged ones but to try and identify the habits that are giving rise to the unhingedness. It is relatively easy (and futile) to mock and knock down the arguments of pathological war mongers. While they may represent a kind of thinking in concentrated form, it couldn’t be so effective in setting the agenda if it didn’t gain traction in centrists.
It seems plausible to me that Sullivan lost his balance in the aftermath of the 911 attacks (when he wrote his ‘Fisking’ post). In recognition of this Sullivan is famous for posting dissenting views on his blog, but I think this mitigates rather than addressing the problem, which must be to critically examine our own passions. Despite all the warnings Sullivan is feeding the Palin troll, just as he get captured by the war-mongers before. It enabled the lunies then and it is doing so again today, in a different way. It would be nice to see Fisk and his philosophy properly appreciated by the centrists that don’t seem to understand how war-mongering is deeply embedded in our culture’s habits of thought.
2. To underline this point, although I critiqued Bryan Appleyard in a previous post I responded to today’s defensive post on his blog with a heart-felt expression of appreciation.
3. This post from Chris Bertram at Crooked Timber, attacking their commenter en masse, must be one of the most ill-advised posts I have seen on a major blog in a long time. It doesn’t say anything that isn’t fairly obvious, is whinny and engages in some of the worst practices it seeks to criticise in getting personal in at least one place.
4. It may be fashionable among bloggers to moan about the quality of the press and pat ourselves on the back but the columns by Maureen Dowd and Frank Rich in today’s Times on the Palin phenomenon were I thought sublime. Obama’s and Palin’s inexperience became linked in the campaign. They also clearly connect with their base in a way that goes beyond the rational, being figure-heads for cultural forces. Dowd runs with the psychological angle and Rich the cultural perspective. Dowd proposes that Obama learn from Palin’s success; Rich warns that without some remedial action, the political landscape may become more receptive to the Palin populist phenomenon. Commentary of this quality is still quite rare in the more reactive (and complacent?) blogosphere.
5. William Polk’s guest contribution today Juan Cole’s Informed Comment is a good advertisement for blogging. The article is a little long but it provides a thoroughly realistic assessment of what Obama should be doing in Afghanistan from somebody who both understands the neighbourhood and has significant experience in formulating US foreign policy. His warning about the danger to the Republic should be taken seriously.