Look, I don't always agree with him, but he's not bullshitting. He's telling you like he sees it. And after reading the interview I actually don't think he's an asshole--and I'm not sure it says anything good about about me that I once did. I had nothing first hand to go on. Anyways, he has reasons for what he thinks.
Continuing...I keep a list of quotes on my blog, and one of them is this one, from a sort of "let's get a classic band back together for a one-off" type of TV show I saw a few years back:
"We didn't speak to each other. That's how everything falls apart, isn't it." Nick Heyward, commenting on Haircut 100’s breakup.But this ain't about Haircut 100, or even Axl except for what I wrote above. That's just context. It's about Reagan and Obama and Ahemedinijad, and Hillary Fucking Clinton if you want it to be:
Obama said in a TV debate that he'd talk to the leaders of the countries the US is arguing with, within the first year were he President. Hillary then made noises about "there's a reason for diplomats..." and "maintaining the prestige of the office", that sort of tripe. The upshot is now a lot of folks are thinking Obama blew it. He may have. And don't get me wrong; this article isn't an endorsement of Obama,; it's an endorsement of a method: fucking talk, man to man, any chance you get, and tell the truth as you see it. There's no insult to anybody in that--and if you think there's a loss of stature in doing that, you're foolish, or a poser (Clinton ain't foolish). The rare exceptions that exist prove the rule.
Ahmadinejad. Twice I've seen him interviewed. Twice he's made some sense. NO, I don't agree with him all over the place, but people are not their caricatures (that's mine, and I think it's original).
Reagan told his aides and diplomats to get out of the way and talked to Gorbachev. And Gorbachev talked back.
Or you and me and they can play it the other way, like always.
And I think Ian over at Ianism has more than a passing acquaintance with A E van Vogt, or Hayakawa or Korzybski; "the word is not the thing" and "people are not their caricatures."
3 comments:
Amen, brother, well said.
Heh... actually, my understanding about words, ideas and things is more from John Locke. Later, I became aware of Hayakawa and Korzybski but have not read either. I have come across some "Korzybski Followers" that seem a bit cultish to me similar to some "Randians."
One of these days, I would like to pick up a copy of Hayakawa's work though.
But anyhow.. good post, Ron.
Thanks Mike, Ian.
There's value in the work of Hayakawa and Korzybski but, yes, there are some "true believer" types attached to both Rand and similarly with the General Semantics folks as well.
Although I heard this said in reference to another figure with cult followers, the general idea holds true: "don't judge Christ by the Christians". Same-same with Rand and GS folks.
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