One of the fascinating things about our post 9-11 world is the contortions people go through to make life conform to their view of reality. This is particularly true of highly traditional media… junk term alert… liberals. They have been confronted with a situation in which they are no longer always on the side of “good,” as they grew up thinking they were. Sometimes their opinions end up being inadvertently in defense of values they have always claimed to find reprehensible, such as the most extreme forms of sexism. And now with the growth of democracy in the Middle East, these same liberals find themselves even more beleaguered, hoping, consciously or unconconsciously, for more violence or failure in Iraq as justification for their reactionary positions.
This results in a kind of lashing out at people with whom they differ, especially those who may have changed their opinions since 9-11. An example of this is Frank Rich’s cheap shot at Ron Silver as a “C-list publicity hound” (therefore presumably not entitled to public interest in his opinions) in this morning’s NYT. Silver, however, besides his distinguished acting career, has been a political activist literally for decades, has worked in intelligence and understands Chinese. [Does Rich?-ed. I think he can order moo goo gai pan.] So what gives here? Ron’s problem, I guess, is that he disagrees with Rich. This is “liberalism?” Times change, huh?
Disclosure: For those who don’t know, I collaborated with Ron Silver on Enemies, A Love Story.
(via Rantingsprof)
UPATE: Football Fans for Truth does some comparison shopping among Rich statements about Silver.
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