Hi Platt,
> Good to hear from you. As they say, "Don't be a stranger."
I don't intend to be really, I've just been overwhelmed by various
'real-life' things in the last few months (three major bereavements, a work
crisis and imminent fatherhood....). I'm still reading everything, and I'm
also building up a backlog of things I want to get back to (mainly to John B
actually). It will probably be the summer before I'm fully back on stream -
I'm taking a sabbatical in order to write a book, parts of which overlap
with some of the discussions going on here, so I'll throw a few elements
into the forum and see how they cope.
I keep wanting to say something about the level of abuse you're enduring at
the moment, but then I realise that it's best to try and let it wash over
you. (And I don't mean by that the specific criticisms that are being thrown
at you about your arguments - you've put out enough hostages to fortune to
keep people going for weeks ;-) - I mean the tone of the criticisms, and the
refusal to let things rest. Must be something about the cyber-warrior
mentality).
One thing I'd pick you up on though:
> Haven't heard of this book, but "axis of evil" is merely a statement of
the
> obvious. Sometimes the truth hurts. Liberals cringed when Reagan
> called Communist Russia an "evil empire." Now where is it?
Perhaps it's my European heritage emerging, but I think it was a mistake to
include Iran with the other two. It's a much more pluralistic society, and
using that language closes off some diplomatic options. However, my point
was not really to criticise the language, so much as to point out that it is
inherently 'absolutist' (!) - and Strauss and Howe argue that every eighty
years or so the US goes through a major upheaval (revolution; civil war;
30's depression) which is characterised by absolutist language which feeds
into the extreme situation. That's not to say whether the language is
appropriate or inappropriate, it's just descriptive, and it confirms their
thesis. If you want to take a quick look at their argument (which I take
with a hefty pinch of salt): http://www.fourthturning.com/
Cheers
Sam
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