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| NYT Columnist Can't Handle It Anymore; Thinks Everybody Else Is The Same Way |
| 2005-09-04 |
| "...Maybe this time there will be a progressive resurgence... All we can be sure of is that the political culture is about to undergo some big change..." In a nutshell, "No". However, in a way he is correct, but not about Americans as a whole. About a small, terribly weak and fragile minority of Americans who are overwhelmed. You have heard of them before. They are frightened of violence in the movies and on television. And in video games, and in comic books. And they are frightened of the violence involved in grading children, if it involves traumatizing them by giving them an "F". They are frightened of the thunder, of the storm, of loud noises and abnormality. And any form of conflict horrifies them beyond belief--there can be no excuse for any kind of violence against anyone for anything. Being afraid is their way of life. They are not independent creatures, they are herd animals. They imagine themselves as part of a human herd, surrendering their individuality, their individual responsibility, in any way they can to the herd. It, Leviathan, as Thomas Hobbes conceived it, is their God. Only rarely does it have what can be called a leader. Instead, it has mouthpieces who parrot the ad hoc consensus to the rest, and for parroting are called leaders. When the herd is confident, so is its empty message. Unified, singular, cleary understood and meaningless. But the herd recites it flawlessly. When the herd has lost its confidence, its message is confused, degenerating into bleating and screaming as only sheep can scream. Others are either of the herd, or not of the herd. All that are of the herd are good, and those not of the herd are evil. That which opposes the herd and their ad hoc direction is evil incarnate. But when something happens that strips away so much of the confidence of the herd that the herd itself is in danger of collapse, truly for the herd animals it is like the end of the world itself. Responsibility resigned comes flooding back. Innumerable decisions that can no longer be ignored must be decided, and even refusing to decide is a decision. There is no one to save them if they stumble. And the republican wolves will get them. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #3 David Brooks is the conservative columnist for the New York Times. He used to write for the Weekly Standard, and before that, for the WSJ Op-Ed page. This column accuses the Bush administration of being incompetent, and suggests that the electorate could start electing liberals again into office. I suppose we'll find out in 2006. I do find his accusation that the Federal government is failing to "protect the weak" kind of weird, though. Rescue work isn't like flipping a light switch. The city of New Orleans is under water. Recovery is going to be a huge undertaking. No quick solutions here. My feeling is that he's been spending too much time talking to liberals at his new job, and is now in the process of trying become as liberal as Frank Rich and Nick Kristof. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2005-09-04 23:23 |
| #2 My analysis is somewhat different. The so called progressives are afraid of change primarily because they see change being mostly for the worse. This thinking stems from their own personal life experience of receiving money they didn't earn (whether inherited or welfare) and lacking the skills or ability to improve their life. They see changes in their own lives resulting in things getting progressively worse and extrapolate this to the world at large. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2005-09-04 22:12 |
| #1 Anonymoose, your comments are much better than the article. Thanks. Hope you're right. |
| Posted by: RWV 2005-09-04 21:18 |