Remember the old saying “the pen is mightier than the sword?” It's true and for that reason the pen is much more dangerous than the sword. Marx and Engels never killed anyone, but their readers killed literally hundreds of millions.
In view of this truth, does it strike anyone as strange that those who propose the regulation and removal of relatively innocuous weapons – like guns – should be so adamant that a far more dangerous weapon, the written word should be left unregulated?
What brought this to mind was Thomas Freedman. Freedman is a pompous buffoon who waxes eloquent in columns distributed by the NY Times and in books. He married an heiress whose father subsequently lost a multi billion dollar fortune. But we know that billions never go away completely; they leave traces during their existence, including a home reported to occupy over 11,400 square feet of space in a Washington suburb, Bethesda, MD. The address: 7117 Bradley Blvd, Bethesda, MD (Other views at the link.)
Per Wikipedia, Friedman has a bachelor of arts degree in Mediterranean studies and an Master’s degree in Middle Eastern Studies. So this scion of wealth and privilege, living in luxury that would make Croesus green with envy, and with access to the printing press he pontificates on subjects of his choosing, most of which have precious little to do with the Mediterranean or the Middle East. And no one calls him on it.
The problem with Friedman, as is the problem with Marx and Engels, is that people pay attention to him because he has the ability to sound sane while despoiling the public intelligence.
Friedman's wealth and his NY Times column gives him access to movers and shakers worldwide, which gives credence to his opinions - at least to the credulous. "Reporting" from Davos and other places where the glitterati gather gives a sheen to his writing that the same thoughts expressed from a basement apartment in the Bronx lacks. In reality, Friedman is a poorly educated ass who is a reliable opinion weather vane pointing in the direction of the prevailing wind, justifying the current Liberal zeitgeist. When the war in Iraq was popular he was for it. When it lost popularity he was against it. When free enterprise is ascendant he’s a proponent. When Green is ascendant, he’s a cheerleader. He sells the intellectual fashion du jour for $75,000 per speech. And he does it all without knowing a blessed thing about the subject.
His latest essay in support of the “cap and trade” fiasco that escaped from the House tell us will we need to know about what Friedman – BA Mediterranean Studies and MA Middle Eastern Studies – knows about the economy, science or energy:
In view of this truth, does it strike anyone as strange that those who propose the regulation and removal of relatively innocuous weapons – like guns – should be so adamant that a far more dangerous weapon, the written word should be left unregulated?
What brought this to mind was Thomas Freedman. Freedman is a pompous buffoon who waxes eloquent in columns distributed by the NY Times and in books. He married an heiress whose father subsequently lost a multi billion dollar fortune. But we know that billions never go away completely; they leave traces during their existence, including a home reported to occupy over 11,400 square feet of space in a Washington suburb, Bethesda, MD. The address: 7117 Bradley Blvd, Bethesda, MD (Other views at the link.)
Per Wikipedia, Friedman has a bachelor of arts degree in Mediterranean studies and an Master’s degree in Middle Eastern Studies. So this scion of wealth and privilege, living in luxury that would make Croesus green with envy, and with access to the printing press he pontificates on subjects of his choosing, most of which have precious little to do with the Mediterranean or the Middle East. And no one calls him on it.
The problem with Friedman, as is the problem with Marx and Engels, is that people pay attention to him because he has the ability to sound sane while despoiling the public intelligence.
Friedman's wealth and his NY Times column gives him access to movers and shakers worldwide, which gives credence to his opinions - at least to the credulous. "Reporting" from Davos and other places where the glitterati gather gives a sheen to his writing that the same thoughts expressed from a basement apartment in the Bronx lacks. In reality, Friedman is a poorly educated ass who is a reliable opinion weather vane pointing in the direction of the prevailing wind, justifying the current Liberal zeitgeist. When the war in Iraq was popular he was for it. When it lost popularity he was against it. When free enterprise is ascendant he’s a proponent. When Green is ascendant, he’s a cheerleader. He sells the intellectual fashion du jour for $75,000 per speech. And he does it all without knowing a blessed thing about the subject.
His latest essay in support of the “cap and trade” fiasco that escaped from the House tell us will we need to know about what Friedman – BA Mediterranean Studies and MA Middle Eastern Studies – knows about the economy, science or energy:
More important, my gut tells me that if the U.S. government puts a price on carbon, even a weak one, it will usher in a new mind-set among consumers, investors, farmers, innovators and entrepreneurs that in time will make a big difference
That says it all. Pass a bill, any bill that makes the use of energy more expensive, and people will change their minds … for the better.
This kind of thinking … and writing … is much more dangerous and destructive than random violence in Watts or drive-by shootings in Chicago. None of that can bring down a whole society. Ideas like Friedman have.
Guns by themselves cannot destroy a culture; men with pens can. Someone needs to demand that Friedman have his license to publish revoked.
Of course, the suggestion is an argument against interest. I am glad to live in a country that allows me to write and publish my opinions, even if I don’t get the readership of Friedman. But I can readily understand that when a dictator (usually referred to as the “voice of the people”) takes over, the first thing he does, even before he confiscates the guns. is to take over the radio and TV stations and close the newspapers.
It works everywhere it’s tried.
1 comment:
I also have a MA in Middle East studies and I'll give Tom Friedman credit for one thing: he does understand and can explain the forces at work in that part of the world. His political ideology taints his recommendations so much as to make them useless, though.
Post a Comment