# The culture of passivity



## a_majoor (18 Sep 2006)

From Mark Steyn. His observation about the drone at the funeral is incorrect, in my opinion, but the rest is very thought provoking:

http://www.washtimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20060917-094111-6114r



> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> *Droning toward sensitivity*
> By Mark Steyn
> ...


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## Good2Golf (18 Sep 2006)

+1


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## paracowboy (18 Sep 2006)

seems apropos


> Do not go gentle into that good night,
> Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
> Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
> 
> ...


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## Blackadder1916 (18 Sep 2006)

Yes, the column was thought provoking.  However, I dont think that I had the thoughts or reached the conclusion that the author wishes me to reach.

After reading the first three paragraphs of Mr Steyn's column, I was initially heartened that someone was speaking out on the poor use of language and absence of style that is commonly found in current newspapers and, unfortunately, most everywhere else. As I continued reading I was disappointed to find that the columnist was using the occasion to express his personal political point of view.  I wasn't surprised though, because that is what a columnist does, if he is (as I suspected) a political commentator.  Mr Steyn's name was faintly familiar.  Well not really, but I don't want to admit to myself and others that, while I may have read some of his other work, I generally do not pay much attention to the identity and background of the many out there who have made careers of "shouting in public".

I don't know why I paid more than cursory attention to this.  Perhaps it was a_majoor's highlighting of certain sentences and the inclusion of his interpretation of the drone episode (to which I agree), but I reread it several times.  Actually I had to; it's not great writing.  As I sat here formulating my impression of this piece, several thoughts ran through my mind.  I was required to do a little (google) research in order to satisfy my curiosity.  

Who is Mark Steyn?  A Canadian - good! Got his start in journalism in the UK as a theatre critic.  Huh?  Maybe that's his previous work I read.  Okay, I like live theatre (its like political debates, except with more talented performers and better music and dance) and am lucky enough to have seen a few productions in the West End.  

Why does Mr Steyn include Rush Limbaugh with President Bush, Vice President Cheney and Secretary Rumsfeld?  The last three are men of gravitas and whose actions affect the lives of Americans and a lot of people in the rest of the world; Mr Limbaugh is, well..., Mr Limbaugh.  Perhaps he was feeling generous towards the man whose radio program he recently hosted (in Mr Limbaugh's absence).   And frankly, I do not care what others (or Mr Steyn) wish to stick in any part of his anatomy.

Is he insinuating that the editors of the Valley News are left wing kooks and hate the principals of the current US administration?  What sort of paper is the Valley News and what drivel are they writing in Vermont?  Unfortunately, on-line, I am unable to read everything that is printed in the Valley News, especially the editorials and columns.  To do that I have to subscribe and as much as I am tempted, it 'ain't gonna happen' just for this.  What I was able to access left me with the impression that the Valley News was a good regional newspaper with some reasonable local talent.  

I was able to review the front-page of the issue referenced in Mr Steyn's column. http://www.vnews.com/09122006/09122006.htm  I read the article that Mr Steyn said he skipped.  Litany of the Lost -  http://www.vnews.com/09122006/09122006.htm   It is a wire service piece (Associated Press) that is written in the usual style of those agencies.  It was adequate for its purpose, and I was interested by the references to the additional events/incidents that occurred on this day.  I was unable to access the article he said he did read, "Half a Decade Later...."

What struck me first about the 12 Sep 06 front-page were the two articles that were above or in larger headlines than Litany of the LostDouble Kidney Exchange to Take Place at Hitchcock Memorial and Valley Bus Service Gets $2.9 Million.

Why would these articles, in the opinion of the Valley News editor, be more important than coverage of 9/11 memorial ceremonies?  Is this the culture of passivity to which Mr Steyn refers or is he expecting daily front-page headlines in small local newspapers to trumpet a continuing call to arms?  I always thought that was the purpose of the editorial page and columnists who spin opinions for a dollar.  Or do the residents of the Upper Valley have lives, like so many others, that do not revolve solely around the events of that tragic day and its continuing commemoration, even though the cost is very real to many in that region  http://www.vnews.com/war/2222542.htm .


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## squealiox (19 Sep 2006)

i wish mark steyn would just come right out and admit that he did a little dance of joy on sept. 11. he's been using it to showcase his cluelessness ever since.
in fact, you can almost hear the little twerp drooling in this article he wrote in the national post two days after 911:


> Or perhaps -- and, just for the record, I mean this entirely seriously -- the U.S. should exercise an admittedly broad definition of the international right of hot pursuit and send forces across the border to track down the terrorist cells that operate out of Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and elsewhere.


isn't there a word for people who advocate armed incursions against their own country?
how anyone can take steyn (or the hysterical teenage girl who writes under that pen name) seriously after that is a mystery to me.


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## North Star (19 Sep 2006)

Last week, when drinking with a friend, I was asked "have we been so feminized as a society that when someone attacks us, we have to constanly second-guess ourselves about striking back?"

Here's an idea for a memorial - an eagle devouring a snake in its claws.


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