Nattering Nabobs of Negativism In the New York times,
today, William Safire wrote an opinion peace about positive prospects
in the Iraq war. "Progress in Iraq"
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/31/opinion/31SAFI.html.
Safire certainly has a
right to attempt to find hope in Iraq. The smears are less than helpful.
I counted no less than
seven references to critics of the war as
gloomy gus, defeatist, etc., as if those who see anything wrong with the conduct
of the war are somehow unworthy to speak. This is a transparent attempt to diminish
critics and silence argument. It is far
more divisive than the original criticism for it sets us up one against the
other. As it did in the past when he authored,
“Nattering nabobs of negativism..”, in reference to critics of the Vietnam
war.
I have noticed, mixed
up into the the tough guy stance of conservatism, a strong tendency to
demonize the opposition. This has historical precedence back to the
McCarthy era. We may all be worried about terrorism, but I am not
looking forward to a new round of recriminations over "Who lost
Iraq". (In the early 50's, the battlecry of "Who lost China" was
rhetoric that preceded the anti-communist witchhunts of that era.)
Mel
12:06:58 PM 
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