Victor Davis Hanson: The trenches of the culture wars

jewishworldreview.com ^ | Oct. 6, 2005 | Victor Davis Hanson

[Tolik]

Welcome to the trenches of the culture wars, where academic notions of political correctness, multiculturalism and cultural relativism meet the brawling American street.  

• New York's governor, George Pataki, just nixed the idea of an International Freedom Center to be located next to the proposed new World Trade Center and its own 9/11 memorial. The center's overseers — architects, academics and corporate elites — felt that by also focusing on the horrors of slavery, segregation and genocide, they could use the shrine of Sept. 11 to further a more universal agenda to support the oppressed.  Most of the families of the 9/11 victims, along with police and firefighters, begged to differ. So they organized to "take back the memorial." They feel that there are better places for political lessons than Ground Zero, where their family members and friends were incinerated by fascistic al-Qaida terrorists.  

• The current Hollywood hit "Flightplan" has incensed airline flight attendants and officers, many of whom are boycotting the movie. The film portrays some of them as rude and dense, and others as playing around, while criminals divert their airplane under their noses. Two of the plotters are, in fact, a female flight attendant and an air marshal!  

  The obvious touchstone for the movie is 9/11,

  ..

<....snip....>

[Tolik]

    Victor Davis Hanson Ping ! 

       Let me know if you want in or out.

Links: FR Index of his articles:  http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=victordavishanson 
His website: http://victorhanson.com/     NRO archive: http://www.nationalreview.com/hanson/hanson-archive.asp

[Hornet19]

Thanks again, Tolik, for having me on your ping list. Hanson is, in my book, brilliant.

[wayoverontheright]

The distortion of reality is a survival mechanism for the Left.

For them, the media no longer serve to provide information or entertainment, they are there to prop up a tired, warped worldview, a worldview which is daily assaulted by reality, and refuted by events.

[metesky]

It used to be that liberalism was also populist. Yet lately the Left has often adopted a condescending attitude toward the so-called people, trivializing the folks in the trenches in assorted uniforms and camouflage who supposedly need guidance and moral enlightenment by their elite betters.

IMO, liberalism was always a faux populist movement, hiding it's condescension from the people.

Thanks for the ping, Tolik. I always read, even if I sometimes fail to respond.
:O)

[dts32041]

What a day to start out a Thursday morning VDH, and guess what I get to start out tomorrow the same way.

[shezza]

The irony of it all? It used to be that liberalism was also populist. Yet lately the Left has often adopted a condescending attitude toward the so-called people, trivializing the folks in the trenches in assorted uniforms and camouflage who supposedly need guidance and moral enlightenment by their elite betters.

But really, how will we insipidly ignorant red-staters possibly know what to think or do without the aloof leadership of elitist snobs and the role-modeling of Hollywood actors? I blame Karl Rove.

[ClaireSolt]

By 2000, Washington reminded me of Versailles. The femaile senators all had elaborate Madame Pompadour hairstyles and everytime I turned on c-span there was a formal party with pols in tuxes. It has calmed down some, though I often wish Hercules would show up and divert the Potomac to clean out the Augean stables. I guess, though, it is our job to throw the bums out.

[shezza]

I guess, though, it is our job to throw the bums out.

Behold, the Power of Pork.

[Kryptonite]

VDH for Supreme Court!

[Valin]

The current Hollywood hit "Flightplan" has incensed airline flight attendants and officers, many of whom are boycotting the movie. The film portrays some of them as rude and dense, and others as playing around, while criminals divert their airplane under their noses. Two of the plotters are, in fact, a female flight attendant and an air marshal!


Hollywood just doesn't get it. And they wonder why people aren't buying thier product.

[contemplator]

The counterpoint has them characterizing anyone who attempts to thwart would be terrorists as 'vigilantes' who are 'endangering' everyone else. Just like statistics, you can say whatever you want when you are controlling all of the variables others get to see.

Hollywood cannot exist without warping reality. It's what they do, the real world often fails to be entertaining so they have to 'jazz it up' and twist it to suit the purpose of the day. Anyone who looks to Hollywood to define the world around them is deluded and just plain ignorant.

[contemplator]

It used to be that liberalism was also populist. Yet lately the Left has often adopted a condescending attitude toward the so-called people

As usual VDH has his finger pointed directly at a core issue.

[Valin]

What gets me is, there's a war on. There are 1,000's of stories out there waiting to be told, stories of loss, cowardness, bravery, conflict, love, the whole pallet of human existence. Why they don't use it is beyond me.
Two examples
1 Atta, his journey from Egypt to 9-11 (see the book "The Cell").
2 A company of Marines from the US to Baghdad (see the "March Up")

There's two great stories right off the top of my head. Took about 5 seconds to come up with them.

[Tolik]

And they [Hollywood people] are so political that the normal primal motivator -- money -- is not the main factor for them. They gladly loose money when overshooting movie to R when it could have been a perfect PG13, and they annoy a large part, maybe even majority of population, with their openly leftist political stance.

One of my favorite talk-show hosts Michale Medved was saying this for ages. They are not starving of course, but they could have made much more money easily!

[Tolik]

Should have cc you to my post #15.

[Valin]

They are not starving of course, but they could have made much more money easily!...and probably made a better movie.
something the guy who taught me photography was always saying "Less is more".

[Harrius Magnus]

"As usual VDH has his finger pointed directly at a core issue."

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Yes, but he made it sound as though this is a new development. I would submit the mindset of liberalism originates from a narcissistic, relativistic, solipsistic, and thus God-less world-view. Therefore, there is no alternative to behaving in a condescending fashion, and there really is little hope that a liberal would realize or comprehend what I just said. They are "hardwired."