Glenn Greenwald: Wailer

When I first encountered him on salon, Greenwald seemed to me to be a slightly pushy moralist trying to parrot Noam Chomsky but without the latter's erudition and childlike whimsy. I had him confused with Robert Greenwald the documentary filmmaker and as such gave Glenn the benefit of the doubt.

Glenn exhausted that particular benefit after just a few pompous columns however, and he was firmly affixed with the label Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. came up with in The Vital Center: The Politics of Freedom for naively idealistic and ego maniacal writers with zero responsibility; the wailer. It is almost eerie how so much of Schlesinger's tome remains relevant or perhaps re-established its relevance to the contemporary world. The wailer in 1940s America was a writer/commentator for a left wing periodical ("left" being synonymous with "communist" or fellow traveler then, understanding that really nails how far the ideological fifty yard line has moved) who had no experience in the practical reality of governing. This aloof intellectual could therefore make high, moralistic demands upon government or society for whatever drew their fancy without having to deal with or even admit the practical ramifications. If you ever looked at an objective analysis of the abolitionists in pre-Civil War America, you might find them kindred spirits. So, just as paranoid right-wingers have always been with us, so too have puritanical idealists. It is up to the humane realists to deal with the responsibility of reform and governance.

So this Greenwald, who apparently lives in Brazil and therefore has no real stake in US policies, has built himself a little niche of like-minded purists on the strength of his reputation for moral certitude. And since the election of Barack Obama, he has taken to showing his independence by bashing the Democrats and especially the President for being just as bad as republicans and bush jr. How hipster of you Greenwald. For specifics check out The Daily Banter website, where his pseudo-intellectualism and sheer obtuseness is a regular topic.

The thesis of this little essay has to be to never stop exercising your critical thinking skills. Skepticism is healthy, but like anything else, moderation is important too. People are all very different, dogmatism is dangerous in a republic no matter where it lies.