In the hoary spirit the Lit-Ideas' Quibblers, let me quibble with one of your main issues, Mike. You are assuming that Eric is like your friend Perry W who doesn't care about politics. Eric doesn't say he doesn't care about anything political just that he doesn't care about "the politics" surrounding of the Ground Zero Mosque. While I see no evidence that Eric has given up Politics, I do see a suggestion that he is turning toward Pragmatism, at least in regard to this particular issue. I am rather fond of that philosophy myself, but I hadn't applied it to Islamism quite the way Eric has. But if that were somehow to become the criteria for judging Islamism, I think that our first case should be the Al Farooq mosque in Brooklyn. We should burn that one immediately. Lawrence From: lit-ideas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:lit-ideas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Mike Geary Sent: Tuesday, August 24, 2010 8:35 AM To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Ground Zero and Dowdophobia Alas, poor Eric. I thought I knew him well......oh well. Eric's disdain for all things political reminds me of Perry W. probably one of my closest friends (I say probably because he now has 4 residences (that I know of) -- a place somewhere in the Catskills, another in the Village, one in Memphis, and one in Tallahassee. He fancies himself a peripatetic, but he flies wherever he goes. Flies his own airplanes. We don't see each other very much anymore, he'll layover in Memphis, usually only for a week or so, then it's down to Tallahassee to do whatever it is he does down there -- go hunting mostly, I suspect. Perry has never worked a day in his life, he married money. He's a very intelligent, very talented guy. A photographer and writer and the manager of his wife's properties, though he complains to me about her complaints about his management skills. I've known him for 45 years, yet I've never known what really matters to him. Besides chasing women, he pursues respect, notoriety, recognition of his talents and intelligence, he wants to be at the center of things artistic. He also genuinely values aesthetic experiences. But I digress. Perry doesn't have a political bone in his body. Like Eric he dismisses all things political. He has always dismissed my activism and radicalism with a wave of his hand, claiming I approached the world as it should be, not how it is. He believed my adulation for Martin Luther King was naive though he personally was all for civil rights. He's just never believed in the efficacy of protest. During the Vietnam period, though he opposed the war, he thought it was folly, perhaps even silly of me to march and demonstrate against the war. "Do you really think that the U.S. government gives a shit what you and the millions like you think? Do you have any idea how much money is invested in this war and is being made? It was a precursor to the "Network" speech: "You have meddled with the primal forces of Nature, Mr. Beale." I think Perry believes that the world is the way the world is because that's the nature of the world and to fight against it is fruitless. Take it on own terms and deal with it. "Life is unfair, kill yourself or get over it. Certainly he has social climbed upwards whereas I have scampered down. "How do you think social change comes about?" I'd demand of him. "Not by the likes of you," he'd say. "Just look at yourself. They wouldn't let you in the servants entrance.". Eric, like Perry, is disdainful of politics and political debate. Knowing Perry I'd be very surprised if his opinion on the GZ Mosque didn't mirror mine. He just doesn't give a damn how it turns out and is pretty much indifferent to all controversies. Eric strikes me in his reaction to Dowd's column to be deeply invested in the politics -- despite his claim to godlike indifference. Eric in fact seems as politically invested as me. Mike Geary Memphis On Mon, Aug 23, 2010 at 4:58 PM, Eric <mr.eric.yost@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: On 8/23/2010 4:12 PM, Judith Evans wrote: you thought she was too hard on Obama, Eric? No, the tone, the writing style, the motives behind the writing ... I have no opinion about Obama. If I had cable TV, I might get bombarded by people telling me what to think about Obama. But really, I don't care one way or the other. On the Web I see things like this (largely) by accident: Ground Zero Imam Says U.S. Worse than al-Qaeda http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=38673 But really I don't care about the politics, the imam's politics, sunstruck madmen politics, Dowd politics, the web page's politics. If the Sufi center becomes a recruitment center for jihad, ceremonially burn it down every year on 9-11; if it doesn't leave it alone. Same applies for the nearby strip joints. ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html