John Odum had an interesting post up at OpenLeft yesterday. Good food for thought.
The Rise of the Angry Center?
Odum, December 23, 2008, OpenLeft
My thesis was that much of the reactive anger we’re seeing in blog comments every time a diarist criticizes a choice or appointment the President Elect makes is not necessarily all attributable to what Sirota calls “Dear Leaderism.” In fact, a significant portion of that anger does not share the characteristics of such a “cult of personality” at all. In these cases, I think we’re seeing hints of a new manifestation of the so-called “moderate” center in American politics – a center possessing a distinction from its previous incarnations that could have ramifications for future debate:
This new “angry centre” has found institutional voice in the ideology-versus-pragmatism discussion playing out in the media. Obama, to the fired-up centrists, is the champion of adulthood following eight years of screaming children, and it’s time for the children to pipe down and mind their manners, lest they find themselves expelled from the dinner table. This new centre is distinct from the old, even though it is populated by many of the same faces. The old centrism was quick to compromise and was largely defined by what it wasn’t (left or right).
This emerging, muscular centrism wants to be a force in its own right, defining itself, rather than being defined by the political poles. It’s basic tenets remain unchanged from the days of the Third Way, (with a more Keynesian bent, granted), but it stands eager to challenge anyone suggesting that taking a principled, centrist stand is oxymoronic.
In other words, the American centre has itself become ideological – and it’s pissed off.
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Emerging? muscular?
face and the anger in my heart, how can I thank you? I can thank you for reminding us of what monsters we have become. I thank you for reminding us that WE are ALL human beings, no matter where we might reside!
I have an untold story I’ve been holding onto, myself, because I have not yet found the point at which it might be suitable to produce it — but, maybe, that will never come and, eventually, I will produce it! It hounds me and has since before the election. But, I am sensitive to the responses of the “moment” and the moment has not yet seemed right, or, perhaps, it’s too painful for me — I do get writer’s block when something is so painful that I have to reach a point of a certain “strength” to publish it or deal with it.
I know I’m rambling, but it is REAL!
Angry, Edger? Have you seen this? Cheney’s Shocking Admissions on How Close He Came to Nearly Destroying the Country
AND TO ALL A “GOOD NIGHT.”
HUGS and PEACE!
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Bush and Cheney