I decided to write an email to Kathleen Parker in reference to the rough time she's been having with loyal Rethugs. In it, I do lament the loss of the non-partisan fact.
After the jump there's plenty of discussion and I sort of call her a water carrier for the administration and a cause of the problem (but in a really polite way).
Here is the message.
Ms. Parker,
I'm really sorry to hear about the difficulties you've been having with hateful comments re: Sarah Palin. I do agree and lament that we have lost any sort of ability to see things through a non-partisan lens.
For example, we should all be able to agree that any list of the best presidents has to include: Washington, Jefferson, Adams, FDR, Lincoln, Roosevelt, JFK (Cuban Missile Crisis), and Monroe before you can even start a discussion about where Clinton and Reagan lie. However, partisans on both sides have automatically assumed that either Clinton or Reagan must be in the top 5. Similarly, on the worst end, Polk, Tyler, Buchanan and Johnson have to be in consideration for the worst. Partisans never make the case that either George W. Bush or Bill Clinton is worse than the president that started the Civil War.
The point of this discussion is to show that we have become a culture of constant hyperbole and no objective analysis. However, I would say that at least part of the cause of this is the rise of the virtue of anti-intellectualism that has been pushed by the columnists that are on the White House's preferred list (yourself included). If there is no reliance on any notion of objective fact, all that is left is blind adherence to cultural norms. So, in effect when anti-intellectualism is trumpeted, all that is left is loyalty to one's group. This is why you received all of those truly dispicable e-mails. This is just something to consider about the power of words. Again, I'm really sorry that you have to read such rubbish.
Sincerely,
[AZ philosopher]
I'd love to hear comments and feedback about this letter.