Friedman plugs the world's hole
Today, Friedman turned poetical; or, unbeknownst to us, Friedman is serializing his newest tome of torpor.
Friedman tells us there's a "deep worry" in America that "there is a hole in the heart of the world" and the American "moderate" political center "was always a fragile flower." (A fragile flower? 'Sniff, much more of this emotive, incontinent drivel and some of us may very well puke.)
Nothing is more certain about people than their similarity to those that came before them.
Three thousand years ago, Solomon said "what has been done will be done again." Two thousand years ago, Livy and Cicero commented on the constancy of human nature. Five hundred years ago, Machiavelli wrote "everything that happens in the world at any time has a genuine resemblance to what happened in ancient times." Two hundred years ago, David Hume taught us there are "characters peculiar to different nations and particular persons, as well as common to mankind." Fifty years ago, Arendt wrote "nothing in nature is more alike than one man to another."
If Friedman believes we are markedly different than our ancestors, he clings to a false notion.
Does Friedman believe we are more polarized about abortion than our ancestors were about slavery?
Does Friedman believe we are more polarized about war than those that voted for Woodrow Wilson because he promised he would keep America out of a war? or those that voted for General McClellan because he declared the Civil War a "failure" and urged "immediate efforts for a cessation of hostilities"? (Are Senator Kerry's words that much different than McClellan's?)
Friedman complains President Bush "nakedly exploited 9/11 to push a far-right Republican agenda, domestically and globally, for which it had no mandate." Does Friedman believe, if Bush had been elected or is re-elected with a resounding 90% of the popular vote that would grant Bush the right to "push a far-right" agenda "globally"?
Friedman's "mandate" criteria is the product of a shallow and lazy mind. Few things should trouble a so-called, self-described "neo-liberal" more than Friedman's own notional belief that the desires of the Many establishes moral value.
Plato and Aristotle rightly feared the Many, for the Many mandated that Socrates should die. Burke taught us, nothing is more tyrannical than being oppressed by the Many.
No 'Sniff, keep your "mandate" for deciding your choices. Kant taught us each of us "hears the call of an inner voice" that teaches us what is moral and just.
Amusingly, 'Sniff Friedman's mind is unravelling if he believes "the world liked Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan." Has Friedman forgotten the Seattle riots during the WTO summit while Clinton was president, where Clinton was mocked and scorned by many? News flash 'Sniff, a Google search of "clinton haters" on "Arabic" pages only shows 58,000 entries; whereas, "reagan haters" on "Arabic" pages only shows 28,000 pages.
Contrary to Friedman's notional belief, it defies common sense to believe those that are scratching out a meagre existence for their families in Venezuela, Brazil, Rwanda, Sudan, China, or North Korea care one jot or tittle about "a decent Iraqi election." ('Sniff, your insularity is showing.)
As Nietzsche wisely said, "Behold the superfluous! they vomit their bile and call it a newspaper."
Friedman tells us there's a "deep worry" in America that "there is a hole in the heart of the world" and the American "moderate" political center "was always a fragile flower." (A fragile flower? 'Sniff, much more of this emotive, incontinent drivel and some of us may very well puke.)
Nothing is more certain about people than their similarity to those that came before them.
Three thousand years ago, Solomon said "what has been done will be done again." Two thousand years ago, Livy and Cicero commented on the constancy of human nature. Five hundred years ago, Machiavelli wrote "everything that happens in the world at any time has a genuine resemblance to what happened in ancient times." Two hundred years ago, David Hume taught us there are "characters peculiar to different nations and particular persons, as well as common to mankind." Fifty years ago, Arendt wrote "nothing in nature is more alike than one man to another."
If Friedman believes we are markedly different than our ancestors, he clings to a false notion.
Does Friedman believe we are more polarized about abortion than our ancestors were about slavery?
Does Friedman believe we are more polarized about war than those that voted for Woodrow Wilson because he promised he would keep America out of a war? or those that voted for General McClellan because he declared the Civil War a "failure" and urged "immediate efforts for a cessation of hostilities"? (Are Senator Kerry's words that much different than McClellan's?)
Friedman complains President Bush "nakedly exploited 9/11 to push a far-right Republican agenda, domestically and globally, for which it had no mandate." Does Friedman believe, if Bush had been elected or is re-elected with a resounding 90% of the popular vote that would grant Bush the right to "push a far-right" agenda "globally"?
Friedman's "mandate" criteria is the product of a shallow and lazy mind. Few things should trouble a so-called, self-described "neo-liberal" more than Friedman's own notional belief that the desires of the Many establishes moral value.
Plato and Aristotle rightly feared the Many, for the Many mandated that Socrates should die. Burke taught us, nothing is more tyrannical than being oppressed by the Many.
No 'Sniff, keep your "mandate" for deciding your choices. Kant taught us each of us "hears the call of an inner voice" that teaches us what is moral and just.
Amusingly, 'Sniff Friedman's mind is unravelling if he believes "the world liked Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan." Has Friedman forgotten the Seattle riots during the WTO summit while Clinton was president, where Clinton was mocked and scorned by many? News flash 'Sniff, a Google search of "clinton haters" on "Arabic" pages only shows 58,000 entries; whereas, "reagan haters" on "Arabic" pages only shows 28,000 pages.
Contrary to Friedman's notional belief, it defies common sense to believe those that are scratching out a meagre existence for their families in Venezuela, Brazil, Rwanda, Sudan, China, or North Korea care one jot or tittle about "a decent Iraqi election." ('Sniff, your insularity is showing.)
As Nietzsche wisely said, "Behold the superfluous! they vomit their bile and call it a newspaper."
posted by Tony Harrison at 6:45 AM
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