My OperaRon Suskind takes questions from..
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 3:04:24 PM
...from completely ordinary Washington Post readers.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2008/08/08/DI2008080802640.html
That's very polite of you, mr. Suskind. But it's not. Simply put, the real problem we have with American Opinion is that it's not wholly stupid, nor entirely reasonable. And unfortunately, what we really must find are the things that appeal emotionally, while /at the same time/ not being utterly irrational.
And humble mr. Suskind took care of finding what we were looking for in this text: vapid self- promoting stories that assume outside culture to be inferior, while lauding American values as Human values.
Furthermore, it must be understood that the heroical nature of questioning one's own actions (in this case, the US's unilateral acts of blatant aggression and contempt for international, or indeed any law) will, while being an extra talent not ordinarily bestowed upon mere mortals, something that when done by individual Americans, is a service unto the entire world.
The question to ask in this case is the following: will this creative attempt at engaging a majority of vapid selfish opinion tip the way of individual heroism (like Suskind shows, quite frankly), or will it instead be believed that running out the clock, instead of dealing the liberal hordes a new win - is the course that will give people the most self- righteousness, and spite, in the shortest period of time possible.
This, as we count in a scandal of proportions not, strangely enough, seen so far in the Bush- presidency. (Perhaps because this one comes with direct evidence admissable in a court).
And the jury is still out (of it's goddamn mind) on which direction to valiantly fall over.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2008/08/08/DI2008080802640.html
Bethesda, Md.: Congratulations on the publication of your book. In the run-up to the Iraq war, it struck me how major media outlets, notably The Washington Post and New York Times, jumped on the White House bandwagon and whole-heartedly endorsed the invasion. Now those same outlets are some of the war's most vociferous critics. Does your book examine -- or has anyone else looked at -- the editorial decision-making that went into those endorsements?
Ron Suskind: No, the book doesn't, but certainly it is a worthwhile area of inquiry.
That's very polite of you, mr. Suskind. But it's not. Simply put, the real problem we have with American Opinion is that it's not wholly stupid, nor entirely reasonable. And unfortunately, what we really must find are the things that appeal emotionally, while /at the same time/ not being utterly irrational.
And humble mr. Suskind took care of finding what we were looking for in this text: vapid self- promoting stories that assume outside culture to be inferior, while lauding American values as Human values.
Furthermore, it must be understood that the heroical nature of questioning one's own actions (in this case, the US's unilateral acts of blatant aggression and contempt for international, or indeed any law) will, while being an extra talent not ordinarily bestowed upon mere mortals, something that when done by individual Americans, is a service unto the entire world.
The question to ask in this case is the following: will this creative attempt at engaging a majority of vapid selfish opinion tip the way of individual heroism (like Suskind shows, quite frankly), or will it instead be believed that running out the clock, instead of dealing the liberal hordes a new win - is the course that will give people the most self- righteousness, and spite, in the shortest period of time possible.
This, as we count in a scandal of proportions not, strangely enough, seen so far in the Bush- presidency. (Perhaps because this one comes with direct evidence admissable in a court).
And the jury is still out (of it's goddamn mind) on which direction to valiantly fall over.
