Now that the New York Times is charging money for it's editorials, I rarely get to read them any more; actually paying for journalism is something I reserve for the unparalleled The New Republic and, in the spirit of keeping an eye on the other side, Bill Buckley's little newsletter.

On Sunday, Bull Moose was kind enough to post the bulk of David Brooks' editorial:

After a while, you get sick of the DeLays of the right and the Deans of the left. After a while, you tire of the current Republicans, who lack a coherent governing philosophy, and the current Democrats, who are completely bereft of ideas. After a while you begin to wonder: Did I really get engaged in politics so I could spend months arguing about the confirmation of Harriet Miers, the John Major of American jurisprudence?

And when you begin thinking this way, you find yourself emotionally disengaging from the exhausted clans that dominate the present. You find yourself going back to basics and considering the fundamental questions: What visions originally excited me about politics and government? If it were completely up to me, where would I plant my flag?

Here's where I would plant mine.

I believe in the lost tradition of American politics, the tradition of Hamilton, Lincoln and the Bull Moose. In other words, I believe that social mobility is the core of the American experience. I believe that society should be structured so that as many boys and girls as possible can work, and rise the way young Hamilton and Lincoln did...

I know, having learned it from Lincoln and Roosevelt, that individual initiative should always be tied to national union. I know we need a national service program to bind our segmented youth through citizenship. I know we need to protect the natural heritage that defines us. I know America has to persevere in its exceptional mission to promote freedom, and the effort to promote democracy in the Arab world is one of the most difficult and noble endeavors any great power has undertaken.

When I cut myself loose from the push and shove of today's weary political titans, and go back to basics, I find myself strangely invigorated.

It's time for an insurrection.

It's not every Sunday you want to shake hands with one of the neo-con standard bearers.

A national service program is something I have long advocated. In Israel they have one called the Army and it does help provide social cohesion. (Except for the Ultra-Orthodox Jews who refuse to recognize Israel until the Messiah comes.) - ex-Izzy in UT

Posted by  Anonymous @ 12:32 PM

 

"So you say you want a Revolution" as the Beatles put it. David Brooks is one of the conservatives most worth reading. - UT Liberal

Posted by  Anonymous @ 12:34 PM

 

Post a Comment