Skip to main content

The New Republic - RIP

I don't like labels. Labels are an unfortunate legacy of our evolution which once required that instant  "is it friend or foe" decisions be hard-wired as a matter of life and death. You would think that civilized human beings would have had enough time by now to evolve something better than simplistic warning labels like liberal and conservative, but for some reason we still haven't done it.

Liberals would label me a conservative although I am often in agreement with ideas which liberals claim to be theirs exclusively. Conservatives would label me a "closet liberal" because I didn't meet some ludicrous litmus test criteria; but frankly, there is no litmus test of what it means to be a conservative that I really give a dam about. And both gladly take my contributions.

So why am I rambling on about my personal philosophical leanings? Because I am distressed about the sorry state of "The New Republic" magazine. The latest issue (Feb 2015) was a pathetic waste of my time and I'm considering dropping my subscription entirely. I discovered the magazine in the early 1980's when I became a fan of it's then editor Michael Kinsley. I have been reading TNR religiously ever since because it has been one of the best sources of well reasoned and well written "liberal" commentary (and conservative rebuttal) that one could find anywhere. I frequently disagreed but still had great respect for the opinions in its' pages. In my opinion, things began going wrong and have never been the same since Peter Beinart left in 2006. I don't completely understand what caused The New Republic's most recent implosion, but it's sad to see something that was so good deteriorate so quickly, whether you agree with it or not.

TNR - RIP

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson My rating: 5 of 5 stars Having read only snippets and never a complete biography of Leonardo da Vinci before, I have no basis of comparison from which to judge the accuracy of Isaacson's beautifully written account of Leonardo's life. Assuming it's accurate, Isaacson's account leaves no doubt that; the man was a true genius, he led a fascinating life much of which was enabled by being born near the beginning of the Renaissance in Europe and he was fortunate to have been associated with so many other brilliant characters. The only minor issue I had with the book was not always being able to tell exactly what the current scholarly research consensus is about the many mysteries of Leonardo's life versus Isaacson's opinion. The book is well worth reading. View all my reviews

Whitehouse Blog

I thought President Obama's inaugural speech was a little disappointing when read for substance from afar, although I can imagine that it might have seemed more uplifting in person. I think the Wall Street Journal got it right in their pre -inaugural " The Opacity of Hope " editorial as they concluded: "The complicated nature of our world means that every modern Presidency is to some extent a leap into the unknown. Mr. Obama's meteoric rise makes him a bigger leap than most. We don't know if he is a genuine man of the left, or a more traditional pragmatist. The audacity of our hope is that as President he will use his considerable talents to return his party to the policies of growth, opportunity and the vigorous defense of U.S. interests that marked it the last time the country had such great expectations for a Democratic President -- under JFK." To me, Obama didn't start well with his first official act being this rather vague and plainly accusa...