Tuesday, May 11, 2010

A Call for the End of Punditry!!!

This is not a political blog, and my work isn't political, however, there is occasional overlap and this morning I noticed the Washington Post had recently asked twelve people what the world should get rid of as part of Spring cleaning. Much to my surprise and delight, Donna Brazile suggested an end to punditry! As she says:

Get rid of the left-vs.-right commentators who are just out scoring points for their team. This sort of opinion-mongering is not only boring and predictable, it is destructive of the truth. If your only credentials are "GOP shill" or "Democratic hack," you've no business cluttering up the airwaves or the op-ed pages.

Coincidentally, this is precisely the purpose of my State of the Union flag proposal! Yes, let us all stand back, take a deep breath, and look at art instead.

Thank you, Donna, for stating one of the very few sensible things I have ever read in an editorial page!

2 comments:

  1. I would hate to see political passion (if that's what we mean by punditry) eliminated. There are lots of things to get worked up about, and art is only one of them. "Let 'em all get out there and say their piece," say I.

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  2. What I object to is the dishonest "debates" that proliferate the air waves. These "pundits" are typically political hack that see everything through party lenses. To them, the truth is irrelevant, the point is to make their side appear in the right, regardless of what the best public policy maybe. My hope is that a really great work of art could shut them up.

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