I have stumbled across a couple of musings on the MSM from different perspectives that throw into sharp relief a lot of the problems with our present media that we regularly discuss on this site. First, from my friend Jim Wright comes an insider’s view of the biggest Alaska story to hit since Sarah Palin: “Alaskan Middle School Students Scare Moose to Death“.
Arts & Letters
Minor Notes – Art, Purpose & Evolution
I added a comment on Brian Boyd on the post below; just before going to bed, I took one last look at the net and see that Denis Dutton (A&L Daily) has linked to a new article by Boyd. Since I don’t really have the background and right now also don’t have the time to do either justice, this is just a link:
A) Boyd’s article: “The Purpose-Driven Life” is in The American Scholar and argues: “Evolution does not rob life of meaning, but creates meaning. It also makes possible our own capacity for creativity.”
B) Speaking of art & evolution, I haven’t linked yet to Dutton’s book itself: The Art Instinct: Beauty, Pleasure, and Evolution. Dutton enriches all of our lives with A&L Daily. The Amazon entry includes a lengthy and somewhat critical review by that witty youngster, Jonah Lehrer. I feel immense gratitude to Dutton – I think he dermonstrates on a daily basis the usefulness of the internet and a genial wide-ranging intellectual curiosity. I suspect his work is richer than Lehrer implies, but must admit this has been an over-committed year and we’ve been moving his book around from table to table in the livinig room. If no one else here gets around to talking about it, I promise a discussion in a few months (but not sooner).
By the way, does anyone out there belong to the Czech organization, SVU?
Who We Are
We aren’t always – perhaps seldom – the best we can be. Fortunately, we have our moments. And, well, generally, we aren’t racists, bigots, sexists; we aren’t roaring masses lynching, beheading, stoning. We feel jealousy but aren’t driven by ravenous coveting; we can be irrational but save such excesses for football.
Obama has demonstrated in the last couple of weeks who he thinks we are. But he doesn’t know us.
“But President Barack Obama wasn’t in a mood to hear them out. He stopped the conversation and offered a blunt reminder of the public’s reaction to such explanations. “Be careful how you make those statements, gentlemen. The public isn’t buying that.”
“My administration,” the president added, “is the only thing between you and the pitchforks.” (Politico)
The Worlds of Benjamin Franklin & Franklin Raines
At some point we are likely to go back to looking at the world as we did a few generations back – the virtues of the 1950’s or the renunciatory sense of duty of the nineteenth century. If the Romantics & the French Revolution saw a response in the stiff upper lip, perhaps the disasters of today will bring back that same resolute look – perhaps instead of Sean Penn we will admire laconic heroes like Gary Cooper and self-deprecating ones like Jimmy Stewart. And if we do, perhaps we will value Benjamin Franklin’s advice and have little longing for Franklin Raines’ raincoat – value more what’s in our chests than covers our backs.
Perhaps the current economic crisis will force a re-examination of the assumptions Shannon describes so well. Each semester I ask my students to briefly discuss a variety of passages from early writers. One of my favorites is Benjamin Franklin’s argument against debt, that it tempts man to lie, that it undermines his freedom. Indeed, as he says, it is hard for an empty bag to stand upright. I like it because it counters D. H. Lawrence’s attack in an understated way. Franklin’s is not a romantic sense of self but a belief that protecting our essence, who we are, is important. His sense that the practical, the worldly & mundane, is an important factor seems much more interesting than the sex & melodrama of Lawrence’s dark passions.
Going to the Movies has Become a Political Act
I went to see The Watchmen over the weekend. I did like it overall. The movie successfully captured the visual style and overall atmosphere of the comic, which is no trivial feat.
I read the comic back in college when I was still a lefty and enjoyed it, so I went into the movie understanding that my evolved and matured world-view would make me appreciate the original story less. However, the movie’s needless deviation from the book merely to make contemporary political points showcased just how profoundly leftism contaminates modern film and art. Increasingly, this makes going to the movies a political act in support of leftism.