Has this been covered? >>How the world sees Americans
Journalist Mark Hertsgaard travelled the globe gathering opinions about the U.S. He talks about the surprising results.<<
salon.com
Btw, passing on what my PM sensors relate, there does seem to be a growing body of opinion from some folks that consider themselves centrists or Left of there that FADG has become such a Choir of the Right that they are choosing more and more to keep it off their 'to-do' lists.
If there's any credence to those complaints, that's too bad, because the fine reputation FADG enjoyed, far broader than the walls of SI, is not likely to be sustained if it becomes the online version of Fox News editorialists.
After the CNN post-election polls, it's fairly obvious to me that the citizenry rates the economy as a far higher concern than the war on terrorism or the potential war with Iraq. And that the citizenry still displays significant numbers of war-adverse folk, sufficient to surprise me and quite a bit larger than the piddly 14% opposed to the first Iraq war.
The more that substantial minority voice gets drowned out on this thread, the more likely the perception will grow that this is a cheerleader squad, instead of a debate forum.
That may mean little to those Kool-Aid drinkers with very black & white viewpoints here, just as it would be for rigid Lefty Kool-Aid quaffers.
IMO, informed FA choices require a broad spectrum of information and opinion to reach the best conclusions. Simply taking a position and defending it against all fresh data sets up a monotone of ideology, to the detriment of the benefits of critical thinking.
I know, I know, my presence (and readership) of this forum has become far too limited to make my own informed assessment. But my point in relating this was not to cast aspersions or make judgments.
I just felt it was important to indicate what the impression is of a few who have PMed me.
I think it's sufficiently germane to considerations of how this thread evolves. Will it reflect the full range of policy considerations government policy analysts consider? Will it become like a high school debate, where every hawkish act by our government will be viewed as 'wins' by its strongest supporters - as if argument wins are the overriding goal?
I've previously learned much from all different angles, and constant evaluation of well-expressed information presented with courtesy and respect has persuaded me to shift left, right and center along the way.
If it evolves with some sense of eqiuilibrium such as existed previously, that's preferable. In my opinion. I don't spend much time in strong Lefty forums either. Too many damn echoes in such chambers, and foreign policy is way too important to our health to leave it in the hands of harmonizing idealogues that inject too much morality into the issues, to the detriment of pragmatism and effectiveness.
That's my two cents. Eight more and ya can buy a gumball. |
