#52 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Tuesday June 8)
Dear Friends,
We are up to 452 straight days. Some folks have asked about back Musings. Here is the website: https://glennsonnenbergblog.wixsite.com/mysite
And here’s the link to sign up friends: https://eepurl.us19.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=c6d57cc4cef3fdd8c77289985&id=60f78d98b1
Updates of the Non-fiction and Fiction recommendations, along with movies and policy, are forthcoming.
STAKING A CLAIM FOR REASON
Mark DiMaria and Alan Rosenbach both took issue with the conclusion that the Democratic leadership is playing into the hands of the Republicans (as I mentioned in my satirical letter from Tucker Carlson yesterday). They point out that the right-wing media is seizing upon the pronouncements of the most extreme members of the left as constituting the prevailing opinion of the mainstream of the party.
I think this is an important point. I’m not sure President Biden needs to disavow the excessiveness of the far-left, as much as he needs to articulate a “Biden Doctrine.” I think that doctrine needs to speak to the value of neighbors caring for neighbors—requiring reasonable taxes and a system to enforce their collection, reasonable steps to ensure continued public health, and reasonable measures to secure and strengthen our infrastructure. And he needs to clarify to folks that “infrastructure” includes our on-line infrastructure, which increasingly is subject to manipulation, phishing, and ransomware that can cripple other, critical aspects of our infrastructure (including transportation, utilities, and defense).
Alan also brings up a fundamental problem with the media—the accentuation of the voices on the extremes of the political debate. He calls this “magnification of the fringe.” Why are Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Marjorie Taylor Green trotted out whenever the opposite side wants to paint the majority on the other side as extreme (in the extreme…!)? Obviously, to anger the faithful and mischaracterize the majority view on the other side. This magnification of the importance of the fringe is terrible and knowingly manipulative.
FEAR OF PALESTINIANS
Murad, my Palestinian brother, I think you misread the headings in a Musing last week. The fear we should have is NOT of the Palestinian people or their legitimate right to self-determination and government (so long as it is coupled with peaceful coexistence alongside the Jewish state of Israel). The fear we should have is of the Republican efforts to undermine our voting and our democracy.
I had referenced the musicians going all-in with the Palestinian cause, without nuance or understanding of history, as a “bumper sticker” philosophy that gets us nowhere. Sadly, I don’t find a lot of good actors in the current debate and I certainly don’t buy into the intersectionality being adopted by the "progressives" who are following leaders with agendas not necessarily related to their core views (but more on that in a later Musing).
Have a great day,
Glenn