A lebanese laundromat owner told me one time that we in the west have no clue how middle eastern arabs think. To that point I was friends with a missonary couple 15 years ago who told me while in the middle east they cared for a wounded jihad fighter in a hospital. They thought they were making excellent progress converting him to peace. In the end when the hospital discharged him they found out he went out to his old fighter buddies and got a rifle and was fighting Israelis again. So much for converting to peace.
Interesting. I've heard other commentators educated in history/relationships in the 'Middle East' say that this is what is missing from most opinion-holders in the west, i.e. that we cannot possibly understand the mind/emotion/groupthink that exists there in a unique way, and applying western values creates a false sense of what is happening or potential solutions.
Today I'm thinking we "old" lefties have to reclaim the left, take it back. Being involved in the arts for over 50 years myself, that means taking up the old tools; writing, speaking up at lectures, galleries, museums, literary events, going back to university! (A truly daunting task, but hey, tuition is free.) Who knows, maybe young people actually want to hear from us sober realists with high EQs.
Older friend of mine’s father was an Editor at WaPo decades ago. She said he was proud that people couldn’t tell what his politics were. I corresponded for decades with a very senior Editor at the Chicago Tribune, and I could not really tell you what his politics were. (He was a very good listener). I think having this as the standard helps emphasize and preserve objectivity.
I get most of my news from WSJ, Yahoo and various Substacks like Lean Out (which I really like by the way). I have given up on Canadian mainstream media. I find that contrary to a bit of the article, they are indeed agenda driven and they behave (and froth at the mouth) like activists. And now the bigger players are paid directly by the very government that they supposedly scrutinize critically (in the old fashioned sense of word).
When you said "Wake up call to the Left", I felt validation as someone who is center right. I share many values with you, just differ in how to get there. I saw this craziness as a Junior in High School in 1967. It's a freedom/responsibility issue with me. TANSTAAFL! (Look up Heinlein).
Thank you for all the link-outs. I hadn't seen some of these articles yet. I don't think journalists can be 'objective' but I also believe it's a worthy goal to strive for, that in working for that you generate a more useful story for the public than those whose goal is to smash up and contort their facts to tell 'us' what to think.
A lebanese laundromat owner told me one time that we in the west have no clue how middle eastern arabs think. To that point I was friends with a missonary couple 15 years ago who told me while in the middle east they cared for a wounded jihad fighter in a hospital. They thought they were making excellent progress converting him to peace. In the end when the hospital discharged him they found out he went out to his old fighter buddies and got a rifle and was fighting Israelis again. So much for converting to peace.
Interesting. I've heard other commentators educated in history/relationships in the 'Middle East' say that this is what is missing from most opinion-holders in the west, i.e. that we cannot possibly understand the mind/emotion/groupthink that exists there in a unique way, and applying western values creates a false sense of what is happening or potential solutions.
Western hubris and arrogance.
Today I'm thinking we "old" lefties have to reclaim the left, take it back. Being involved in the arts for over 50 years myself, that means taking up the old tools; writing, speaking up at lectures, galleries, museums, literary events, going back to university! (A truly daunting task, but hey, tuition is free.) Who knows, maybe young people actually want to hear from us sober realists with high EQs.
Older friend of mine’s father was an Editor at WaPo decades ago. She said he was proud that people couldn’t tell what his politics were. I corresponded for decades with a very senior Editor at the Chicago Tribune, and I could not really tell you what his politics were. (He was a very good listener). I think having this as the standard helps emphasize and preserve objectivity.
All novelists are liars. That's why we can be trusted to tell the truth.
Embrace the mess.
I get most of my news from WSJ, Yahoo and various Substacks like Lean Out (which I really like by the way). I have given up on Canadian mainstream media. I find that contrary to a bit of the article, they are indeed agenda driven and they behave (and froth at the mouth) like activists. And now the bigger players are paid directly by the very government that they supposedly scrutinize critically (in the old fashioned sense of word).
When you said "Wake up call to the Left", I felt validation as someone who is center right. I share many values with you, just differ in how to get there. I saw this craziness as a Junior in High School in 1967. It's a freedom/responsibility issue with me. TANSTAAFL! (Look up Heinlein).
Thank you for all the link-outs. I hadn't seen some of these articles yet. I don't think journalists can be 'objective' but I also believe it's a worthy goal to strive for, that in working for that you generate a more useful story for the public than those whose goal is to smash up and contort their facts to tell 'us' what to think.
When one aligns themselves with a death cult, one should assume there are going to be repercussions.