Diptych

Friday, July 06, 2007

The Dean addresses his audience

Der Fuhrer Speaks

Smarter people than I have weighed in on David Broder's latest outrage, but I can't help jumping in with my own tendentious attack on the Dean. It's all the rage, you know.

Just who do you think Broder was talking to when he wrote his column? Do you think his target audience was someone like you? ...Or not:
...A particularly virulent strain of populism has made official Washington altogether too responsive to public opinion.

From Aristotle to Edmund Burke, philosophers have written of the healthy tension that normally exists between the understanding and strategies of leaders and the sentiments and opinions of their people.

In today's Washington, a badly weakened president and a dangerously compliant congressional leadership are no match for the power of public opinion -- magnified and sometimes exaggerated by modern communications and interest group pressure.

The latest cave-ins ... seriously threaten the national interest.

David Broder
A Mob-Rule Moment
The Washington Post
Thursday, July 5, 2007, A17


When Adolf Hitler said the following, his audience was the Industry Club:
...So it is only natural that when the capable intelligences of a nation, which are always in a minority, are regarded only as of the same value as all the rest, then genius, capacity, the value of personality are slowly subjected to the majority and this process is then falsely named the rule of the people. For this is not rule of the people, but in reality the rule of stupidity, of mediocrity, of half-heartedness, of cowardice, of weakness, and of inadequacy.

Thus democracy will in practice lead to the destruction of a people's true values.

Adolf Hitler
Speech to the Industry Club
Dusseldorf, Germany
January 27, 1932

[Sorry, no link to the revisionist history site where I found this.]

Godwin's Law - I lose. But then how could someone of my ilk ever win against the genius, capacity, and value of Broder's personality? I'm embarrassed that I even brought it up.

Let's agree to keep this little outburst within our caste, shall we?


Comments: Post a Comment

<< Home

Powered by Blogger