[lit-ideas] Re: Max Boot

  • From: "Simon Ward" <sedward@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Mon, 1 Jan 2007 20:51:32 -0000

Brian,

I doubt you'll find many on the left who have a true concept of evil in the 
sense of a profoundly flawed soul. That's far too spiritual. Instead, those on 
the left will talk about motives, sometimes in a conspiratorial manner, but 
often in terms of economic greed, not personally, but in a partisan way. It's 
motive that matters far more than the individual, because motive covers the 
broader range of decision making activities. Nobody on the left would say that 
Bush is evil, many, if not all, would say that he is a misguided idiot. 

As far as Eric is concerned, I for one find his views divergent from his 
nature. In one post he will talk fondly of the bear in the orchard, in another 
he breaths fire about an arab in a cave. Given that he is a Newyorker, I think 
this is understandable, sad yes, but entirely understandable. 

As for Lawrence, I think we all know by now that he is the devil incarnate 
[says the athiest trying not to grin].

Simon
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Brian 
  To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
  Sent: Monday, January 01, 2007 3:27 PM
  Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Max Boot


  Simon, there was no vitriol present.  I was demonstrating Irene's absurdity 
by being absurd.  She has a bad habit of speculating about the psychology of 
people she doesn't know and imposing a template from the therapeutic/victim 
culture onto them.  And I don't see how it in any way negates her apology or my 
accepting it.  In fact, I think her admission of error would be stronger if she 
had left it at that instead of pretending I brought up Bill Clinton in a 
completely different context to deflect from Max Boot's crushing analysis of a 
position I haven't staked.


  I think you're quite wrong about Rightists.  By-in-large conservatives 
believe the Left is wrong but the Left believes the Right isn't just wrong, but 
bad and often evil.  We see this time and again, both in the larger culture and 
on this list, with President Bush.  It isn't enough to say his policies are 
wrong but that he is a bad person and a force for evil in the world.  How many 
times has Eric taken a more conservative position and been personally attacked 
for it?


  ~Brian


  On Dec 30, 2006, at 4:44 AM, Simon Ward wrote:


    Seems Lawrence's surrogate didn't waste too much time descending into 
vitriol. Par for the course with these Rightists. Some advise: never waste an 
apology, you might not get another.

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