Sunday, May 06, 2007
Chomsky Vs Buckley: A debate from 1969
This is an 18 minute snip of dialogue between an intellectual of the left and the right. I find myself in between the two politically, but it upsets me that this kind of debate isn't on television anynore. Too bad Buckley has soured on Iraq. It would be lovely to see these two, even now, debate an issue like the war for 30 of the 60 minutes on CBS any given Sunday night.
I was a strange kid. Even though left of center, I watched Firing Line religiously. It wasn't Hannity & Colmes mind you, but it had it's moments. Does anybody else wonder if Buckley cringes when thinking of K-Lo and Jonah Goldberg as his replacements? Buckley at least is intellectually honest. He changes his opinion based on reconsideration of reality and new facts brought to the table. The modern breed wait for Karl rove to tell them the talking points of the day.
Chomsky isn't allowed on tv these days. Pat Buchanan, who has made it to third base with Holocaust denial is a regular. Putting Juan Williams up against Britt Hume is not exactly balanced. More serious liberals and conservatives in the media please.I can safely ignore Bill Kristol. That is why we are fracturing so badly. We get not much more than partisan hackery disguised as informed opinion. I want an Ayn Rand, not an Ann Coulter, an Alan Watts, not an Alan Colmes.
Toss us a bone. Explain to people the difference between Sunni and Shia. Maps, charts, and grafs would be helpful. I may be glad that most Americans have turned on this war, but the simple reality that they are doing so with no understanding of the region, or the ability to find it on a map is why Iraq won't be our last foreign policy blunder.
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