an interesting article

Andrew Leonard at Salon.com was the lucky one to pick apart a conservative column and today’s lucky recipient was David Brook’s New York Times' article “Relax, We’ll Be Fine.” and not the whole article, but one specific paragraph. In the paragraph the Mr. Brooks is stating his opinion that Americans make great pop culture and there will always be a desire for pop culture. That’s it. That is the entire point that he is trying to make. He uses some big words to to try and class it up and I guess that is what Mr. Leonard has a problem with.

Mr. Leonard’s article perhaps is weakened because he chose to quote Mr. Brooks. If he had just made his point without actually showing Brooks’ words it would have been easier to follow his argument. As it was I was able to see that what Andrew Leonard was trying to say had nothing to do with what David Brooks was saying.

Here is a fundamental flaw in criticism; you never know what the reviewer is bringing with them to the piece. I am bringing with me the thought that Andrew Leonard is a liberal/democrat who does not like David Brooks because he is a conservative/republican commentator and that it would not matter what Mr. Brooks said but Mr. Leonard would mock it. I am probably wrong in this assumption, or at least am letting it way my review more heavily than it should. But there is little I can do about it other than tell you what I am thinking and let you judge my critical thinking (and hopefully not me or my own political beliefs which might surprise you) for yourself. That does not make for as entertaining of a read as pointing out how wrong someone else is though.