Douthat's Two Minds
If you have an ounce of sincerity, it's difficult to write a thousand words without tipping off some of your intentions. An overrated opinion writer for the New York Times wrote yesterday a column ("Islam in Two Americas") in which he starts out surprisingly well, but then the dark spirits take over. Essentially, as Joan Walsh of Salon remarks correctly, "Not surprisingly, Douthat made his astonishingly ignorant remarks in a column defending prejudice against the so-called 'ground zero mosque,' which, again, isn't a mosque, and isn't at ground zero. The controversy, ginned up by Republican opportunists and kept alive by cowardly Democrats (thanks, Harry Reid!) is bringing out the 'Know-Nothings' in American politics again -- and I mean that in both senses of the word."
Walsh takes down Douthat in good and convincing manner. You may read it here.
Seriously, just when you think the political tenor of America can't get worse ...
Walsh takes down Douthat in good and convincing manner. You may read it here.
Seriously, just when you think the political tenor of America can't get worse ...
posted by fromclay at 8/17/2010 03:59:00 AM
3 Comments:
Eebs, you took the words right out of my mouth. In creating his parallel worlds, it's clear which one he prefers we live in, one in which your rights and mine are subservient to the ardor of the whipped-up mob.
The conservative response to this situation is simply appalling - they'll talk all day about religious freedom, but it's clear that what they really mean is religious freedom for Christians. If the Republicans really insist on making this a major issue for the November elections, they'll prove even further that they don't give a damn about this country, just scoring political points with their extremist base.
Still, I'd like to see Obama show a lot more backbone on this issue. I like his public statement as of last Friday, but much less so the waffling he's done ever since. Stand up and proclaim what's right, just like Mayor Bloomberg did and continues to do.
Well, what's vexing about this matter is the fact that this kind of fear pandering has a growing eager audience. Like I said before, I find Obama to be disappointing in trying to please too many people all at once. Thanks for the comments, gents.
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