Good moanin' - it was great to see my former hometown team, the Kansas City Royals, beat the Yankees. Now, anyone who's been here a while knows that I don't have much use for sports, generally. But it's nice to see underdogs (and currently there's no one under the Royals) get a boost - and it's always encouraging (in a slightly evil way) to see what the 12-steppers call ego-deflation at depth occuring to the high and mighty (in this case, the Yankees). I won't kick 'em any more while they're down - but as a lowly earth-dweller, it is a little sinister fun to see how the mighty have fallen...
Good moanin' - hat-tip to Lisa at CrazyFaith for the reminder that The Sound of Music celebrates its fortieth anniversary this year. I am an unapologetic fan of TSOM, and I don't care. I am also old enough that I saw this in the theatres the first time around - so songs like Favorite Things, Do-Re-Mi and Edelweiss are just woven into my DNA. A great article in the New York Times says it best for me: The Hills Still Resonate. May you bloom and grow, indeed.
Just moanin' - about Lisa's reference to Jesus Christ, Vampire Slayer - a cult movie that she loves and for which I couldn't wait for the end. She seems like such a smart young lady, most times...In short, the very worst bits of Godspell, The Saint, Buffy and a bad kung-fu movie all rolled into one. Sheesh...
Interestin' moanin' - back to the NY Times - an incredibly insightful essay by Matt Miller called Is Persuasion Dead? He asks the very pertinent question - can anybody be persuaded of anything, these days? Here's a teaser...
The signs are not good. Ninety percent of political conversation amounts to dueling "talking points." Best-selling books reinforce what folks thought when they bought them. Talk radio and opinion journals preach to the converted. Let's face it: the purpose of most political speech is not to persuade but to win, be it power, ratings, celebrity or even cash.There's probably a whole post dedicated to this question - especially as it deals with questions of faith and practice over which churches are ready to schism. (It's also a great question for the blogosphere, where many folks are so convinced of their opinion, that there is no need to muddy their thoughts with trivia like facts.) It's a worthwhile read, in the meantime.
By contrast, marshaling a case to persuade those who start from a different position is a lost art. Honoring what's right in the other side's argument seems a superfluous thing that can only cause trouble, like an appendix. Politicos huddle with like-minded souls in opinion cocoons that seem impervious to facts.
That's it for now - I've got to spend some time at work, to prepare for a deadline I'm still not ready for, and then taking-care-of-life stuff. Peace, y'all.
2 comments:
What would make any nit-headed idiot think that persuasion is dead? If you can't see that there's only One Right Way to look at everything - which happens to be MY way - it's you're own stupid fault. Ninnies like that can't be persuaded. Why, all right-thinking people know better. I know I do. And I'm sick and tired of being told that I don't.
(Apologies to the Monty Python folks for freely adapting.)
Reminds me of a deal I offered my Partner early in our relationship: We would occasionally do what he wanted, as long as he realized that I was right.
His version of the deal is we will do what I want when it's what he wanted anyway.
I still think my offer was more generous. But then, that's the kind of guy I am.
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