October 31, 2007
On being a moron
This morning I woke up with a start and immediately reached for the Blackberry on my bedside table. This is an incredibly bad habit, which I must rid myself of. Among the messages that had come in overnight was this comment posted on the blog by WCM, who makes "no apologies" for his rudeness. He suggests that I am not doing my job properly because I am writing about trivia and neglecting important issues like developments on the Turkish-Kurdish border, developments in Pakistan, the world of private equity etc…
WCM is not alone in his concerns. When I mentioned to my colleague Lucy Kellaway that I was planning to write about celebrities this week, she looked slightly concerned and said - "Isn’t that a bit moronic?" However, since her previous column had been devoted to seeing how many swear-words she could get into the FT in one go, I did not feel Lucy was in a position to preach. (I recommend the podcast incidentally).
However, the issue raised by WCM and LK is a valid one. My answer is that the question I ask when choosing a topic for my column (or indeed for the blog) is not - what is the most important thing going on in the world? It is - do I have anything original to say about this?
Of course, this is not an iron rule. Sometimes, an international issue will be of such overwhelming importance that you have to write about it - even if you are unlikely to say something particularly startling. I would not have written about celebrities in the week of 9/11.
As for my occasional interest in moronic topics - celebrities, conspiracy theories, YouTube, Wikipedia etc…I plead guilty. In partial defence, I would argue that some of these subjects are not as dumb as they might appear. I tried to point out in the celebrities column - for example - that these people actually matter.
The YouTube posting was - admittedly - mainly designed to amuse. (Although I suppose I could say something solemn about YouTube’s importance as a political medium.) But I think the occasional effort to amuse is not such a bad thing. When I was an editor at "The Economist" I had a colleague who informed me that his personal motto was "I dare to be dull." For many months he pursued his mandate with grim determination, writing long and deeply-researched articles on topics like pensions and welfare reform. I cannot say that I always received his copy with enormous joy. And he did once tell me that he had never, ever, recieved a letter or an email from a reader. My colleague eventually wrote a very funny article by accident. It was an e-mail he had sent to me about a disastrous meeting he had been to. I think he was a bit surprised when I re-printed it in the paper - but he did, at last, get a few letters.
Anyway, as you can see WCM has provoked a bout of unhealthy introspection. I have considered writing about all the topics that he suggested - as well as immigration and Nicolas Sarkozy’s visit to Washington. But there are a couple of moronic topics/possibilities that also tempt me. I want to write about the backlash against Robert Parker, the wine critic. And I have long been tempted to post a photograph of my cat on this blog. There is an international affairs link, since he is named after a former Belgian foreign minister.
We are so constantly bombarded by “Moronica” (reality shows, celebrity worship, most radio phone ins, George Bush’s utterances, any publication that is corrupted after a Rupert Murdoch takeover…..) that I am convinced there must be a serious gap in the market for topics and discussions that are deep / serious / meaningful.
But then maybe I am just a nerd!
I also think there is a cultural difference between the English and the French. The former are suspicious of, and easily exhausted by, anything or anybody that is “too clever by half”, whereas the latter positively seek philosophical literature and political debate. (I suspect WCM is French!)
Best,
P
Posted by: Pacifist | October 31st, 2007 at 1:53 pm | Report this commentMr Rachman
With this post, I promise to retire for a few days. French vacation, you know. Before doing so, I will apologise for any undue arrogance or self-righteousness on my part. In fact, I was noting the deletion of a Dr Pizza response to me this morning (in the other string) while you were posting your piece. In this last post which I cannot delete now, I confess to my own less-than-elevated online entermainment interests. Nonetheless, schoolteaching (old style) runs deep in the bloodline.
Please note that my dismay is a reflection of my respect for you. I won’t go so far as to say “one only hurts the ones they love.” So, with any luck the ROW will pose tonight for Youtube and celebrate All Saints’ Day/weekend with good Old Europe! My only regret is that the one time I prompt a response, it feels like the wrong one for all of us to be worrying about. Still, it’s worth a good laugh!
Bon weekend!
Posted by: WCM | October 31st, 2007 at 2:29 pm | Report this commentToo my mind the blog should and is allowed to cover a wide range of topics, when I first read the comment I assumed it was about the Bono bashing rather than a little brevity from which we can all benefit.
Maybe the author was Sarkos press secretary trying to once again curry favour after disappointing him during the 60minutes show…
Posted by: Platzdorf | October 31st, 2007 at 2:33 pm | Report this commentGideon,
I very much enjoy your wit and humour - a nice complement to your excellent serious writing. Please continue.
That this blog has engendered a lively online community is not due to pure chance. Anyway, I prefer your Blairite approach to blogging, to the stultifying Brownian of some of your colleagues.
Posted by: RCS | October 31st, 2007 at 4:37 pm | Report this commentGideon, don’t let the snarky people get on your nerves. It’s your sense of humor that makes this fun. The problem with most people in the media is that they take themselves very seriously, which is also the problem with people in the entertainment industry.
The snarky people are the ones who accomplish nothing in life, and knowing that, spend their entire lives bitching about what others are doing. That way they can proclaim their greatness to anyone who will listen. They naturally become politicians.
I’ve been meaning to tell you how great it is to read posts that not only reflect humor about international subjects which most people consider shockingly dull, but also reflect an openness to actually think outside of the box, an ability that everyone lists on their resume, but that few, very few, can actually accomplish.
Posted by: jelly | October 31st, 2007 at 4:39 pm | Report this commentCelebrity pudits are not the problem …they have always been around…it is what passes as a “celebrity” now that is the problem…it is no longer a “special club” of the the extremely creative or original in looks, intellect, or style…. instead you can be crass, superficial, not particularly smart, talented or good looking and you can even be obscene, which is actually very boring …(my mother always said it was a sign you had a lack of vocabulary when your speech is reduced to 4 letter words to make your point) but you can be still deemed worthy of being called a “celebrity”…it’s a very low bar these days…
Posted by: Lisa-Helene Lawson | October 31st, 2007 at 4:48 pm | Report this commentMr Rachman, speaking of moronic isssues, I would suggest that you conduct a poll among the (surely very numerous) readers of this blog, to decide who is the world politician who has said and done more moronic things over the last few years.
Posted by: Nash17 | October 31st, 2007 at 6:45 pm | Report this commentMy bet is that Bush and Ahmadinejad would nearly tie at the top. In fact, I think they could easily trade places; maybe no one would notice (?)
Gideon,
On the backlash against Robert Parker, a good starting point is the film, Mondovino - a really entertaining and interesting documentary on the world of wine. Pay close attention to Michel Rolland, a French oenologist who’s helping many winemakers clients across the world make “better” wines - essentially closer to Parker’s tastes. Ironically, some of Parker’s earliest and strongest critics are some of the winemakers who hired Mr Rolland to make wines, parker style…
Posted by: French_in_London | November 1st, 2007 at 1:11 pm | Report this commentGideon, please don’t change the style of your blog. I am a big fan, precisely because of the range of topics you address in your characteristic style and with original thoughts. There are a million stuffy articles out there, all saying the same thing. Not interesting.
As RCS says, your blog has generated a lively community around it, and the debates are very interesting and informative.
And for goodness’ sake, Lucy Kellaway is one of the most unoriginal writers out there.
Posted by: Red | November 1st, 2007 at 1:23 pm | Report this commentIf you want to have fun, have fun, but, please, no more “meta” blogs re your blog. kc
Posted by: kc | November 1st, 2007 at 1:29 pm | Report this commentMr Rachman
Tell us about the Cat, I say!
You once wrote of being bemused when asked to make up a minyan (Jewish prayer service) with a fellow FT colleague at the Davos conference.
One thing I like about these blogs - as opposed to the Economist at the other end of the extreme - is we get to see you as a real person instead of hiding behind a mass of glossy adverts and other opinionated articles.
You have mentioned before the changing of faces between your blog and column. This highlighted the disagreement between you and the WCM chap.
I like reading your articles and your blog for its human touch. Why shouldn’t I read about a person that I read so avidly. (By the way I would love to hear you talk).
Therefore, I say to more of hearing about you! Gids, (can I call you that?) you have such a Jewish name. Let’s here about your religious views as well. In the ages where Bush and others who are adversaries talk in messianic terms it may be good to hear you views on religion.
Shakoiach! (well done in Hebrew)
S
Posted by: simon shaer | November 1st, 2007 at 8:17 pm | Report this commentDear Simon,
I’m a native speaker and I know no such word in Hebrew. Probably you meant יישר כוח (pronounced ‘yishar ko’ach’ in Modern Israeli Hebrew). Your rendition might be the Yiddish equivalent or possibly the Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation - but I know none of these so I cannot tell.
Posted by: RCS | November 1st, 2007 at 9:51 pm | Report this commentGideon, I’ve seem to have been a reader of your writings for at least the last decade; your work at the economist and now the FT has helped refine my own thoughts and ideas and you owe nobody an apology or explanation.
How our foreign policy is shaped in the age of media is an extremely important subject; it has to do with how most of us in the west considered the Iraq war a necessity when in retrospect the case was not compelling. It also has to do with how we’re being told to believe that aid fixes problems. Through taxes I’ve been forced to spend a lot of money on hopeless ‘aid’ which for the most part disappears in the usual coffers of committees, salaries, kickbacks, extortions, you name it. If there is to be structural alleviation of poverty in the south, the north should stop its farm subsidies and allow the south access to the northern market; the focus should also be on small scale investments that can lead to employment and on allowing a subsequent sustainable rise in living standards and good governance controls. If money fixes problems then it does so best without all the leaking funnels; while that perhaps wasn’t directly your point it’s certainly true that the Bush administration isn’t the only group seeking our endorsement for questionable foreign policy initiatives. I’m glad you pointed that out.
As for the youtube post; George Allen did manage to blow up his career there and politicians now have to mind their public image the moment they step out of the front door (or even when they see a cell phone in the hands of their own kids) because of the ease with which anything they do ends up spreading on the internet. That’s no minor issue either.
You’re a mensch; instead of you retreating from or apologising for that perhaps others ought to let that shine through as well? Besides, the Economist and the FT hired you (probably) not for your good looks, although you do have a new picture on your blog!
Posted by: Felix Drost | November 1st, 2007 at 9:58 pm | Report this commentUmmm…Thanks for the support. It’s all rather embarrassing.
Honestly, I wasn’t really upset by WCM. He raised a perfectly fair point. As for Lucy Kellaway, I’m pretty sure it was meant as a friendly joke. I’ll check next time I see her. And I thought her swearing column was pretty original.
On a couple of other specific points.
Posted by: Gideon Rachman | November 1st, 2007 at 10:51 pm | Report this commentI will look out for a chance to post a photo of the cat, alongside his ministerial namesake.
As for my religious beliefs - I dont really have any. I was brought up as an athiest and - by and large - I’ve stuck with that. It takes up less time. I pray very occasionally - usually motivated either by fear or greed. I don’t think it works. But it can’t do any harm. Or can it?
Gideon,
You’re basically asking the age-old question about God’s existence… I’m surprised there hasn’t been any comments yet. It’s quite strange really, as The Economist today examines the revival of religion, bloggers on this post don’t seem to care too much about religion. It’s probably a good thing.
And I wanted to suggest another idea: Mr Bush’s behaviour in his last month in office.
I mean how can he refuse to sign that bill to help poor children? Of course, they might be some fair points to oppose it but surely for a president that hasn’t blocked any legislations in 7yrs including those paying for building bridges to nowhere surely picking on a bill that potentially could help millions of struggling to middle-income American families to prove a point to the Democrat is wrong.
And I hear today that if congress isn’t happy with his choice of attorney general, well the country will have to do without one! This is so petty and no way to run a country. It’s not like I expected an enlightened president in the last months of his presidency given his record, but still I sort of expected that idiocy, partisanship and “don’t care, I’m president, I can do whatever I want” had a limit.
And I can’t believe the praise he got for the California fires. The comments were that he had learnt from New Orleans. That is utter non-sense. It was simply cold-hearted partisan politics. Why help poor Democrat-voting blacks in New Orleans? Better to help Republican contributors in wealthy parts of California… Anyway, maybe it was only utter incompetence in New Orleans and I’m just getting utterly cynical.
Any views on this?
Posted by: French_in_London | November 2nd, 2007 at 10:53 am | Report this commentDear Felix,
I think GR’s new photo indicates that he has slimmed down quite a bit. I think it is a prelude to recipes, and articles about healthy diets and exercise, being posted here.
Best,
P
Posted by: Pacifist | November 2nd, 2007 at 11:59 am | Report this commentTrue religion is not a political issue, but a matter of personal conviction.
The latest issue of The Economist is one of the most boring ever. Funny how that newspaper fluctuates between superb coverage and analysis of the big macro developments - structural issues of global geo-strategy and international economics - to an obsession with comprehensiveness that results in many short trivial articles. The FT is much better at micro-level analysis - that of UK or German politics, for instance (though the previous Bagehot was a must-read, as was Charlegmagne in his Rachman incarnation; from the batch of current Economist writers I would single out Peter David). Be that as it may, one thing is certain: Britain excels in finance, serious journalism and any combination of the two. This is part of a broader tradition of excellence in areas such as essay literature (e.g. Julian Barnes) and analysis (e.g. the IISS) - all of which are geared to the British culture of restraint. However, in subjects more artistic, there Britain has historically lagged: For instance, never were the isles at the forefront of developments in western music; or prose literature, where the continent has far surpassed.
Posted by: RCS | November 2nd, 2007 at 1:07 pm | Report this commentIn response to Pacifist and like-minded:
Nothing interesting is happening right now; readers can be excused for being bored. Turkey-Kurdistan is all bluff, Pakistan - nothing new. Oh, and there’s that speech by Dr (W)Hu.
Posted by: RCS | November 2nd, 2007 at 1:31 pm | Report this commentHi RCS,
I hold no brief for the Brits but when you say “never were the isles at the forefront of developments is western music;or prose literature”, you kinda surprise me.
How about the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Punk Rock, Elton John…?
I also seem to recall that there was one Billy Shakespeare who could write a bit and some other names ring a bell too…. Dickens, the Bronte sisters, The Shelleys, Jane Austen, Thackeray, Lewis Carroll….George Orwell….
As for your later post, I think the following item is quite interesting:
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/916758.html
Best,
P
Posted by: Pacifist | November 2nd, 2007 at 2:54 pm | Report this commentHi Pacifist,
I meant Bach, Bartok, Beethoven, Brahms, Debussy, Enescu, Haydn, Mozart, Schnittke, Schubert, Schumann, Shostakovich –that kind.
As for literature I meant: Albert Cohen, Camus, Elfriede Jelinek, Kafka, Llamazares, Francois Mauriac, Timo K. Mukka, Robert Musil, Peter Nadas — that kind.
I could add one Brit to such a list: Patrick Leigh-Fermor. Shakespeare is in a class of his own, but not strictly prose. As for Dickens, Jane Austen and the rest you mentioned — they definitely don’t make the grade.
Tzipi Livni — can’t stand her. She is a self-righteous mediocre politician with the mannerisms of a school-teacher (sorry, WCM). In any case, I wouldn’t trust her judgement.
Posted by: RCS | November 2nd, 2007 at 3:23 pm | Report this commentHi RCS,
Don’t you think in a couple of centuries, the Beatles may have the same standing of some the names you mention? By then they will be classical too!
As for Tzipi (is this a real name? I thought all Jewish girls were called Becky!!), she obviously is a very senior Israeli politician and the report is from a major Israeli newspaper. It agrees with my thinking that the nuclear issue (like the Iraqi WMD’s) is simply a pretext for war and nothing else.
In this context, I recommend this article:
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20071119/parsi
He posits that a successful policy on Iran must begin by reassessing some basic assumptions which he discusses:
1. Iran is ripe for regime change.
2. Iran is irrational and cannot be deterred.
3. Iran is inherently anti-American.
4. Enrichment equals a nuclear bomb.
5. Iran seeks Israel’s destruction.
6. The pressure on Iran is working.
7. Stability in the Middle East can be achieved only through Iran’s isolation.
Best,
P
Posted by: Pacifist | November 2nd, 2007 at 4:14 pm | Report this commentHi Pacifist,
In reply to your first question my answer is no. This has nothing to do with the passage of centuries, in fact some of the composers I listed are quite modern.
‘Tzipi’ abbreviates ‘Tzipora’, which means — hold your breath — bird! Actually, it should have been pronounced Ssipora - the Hebrew צ corresponds to the Arabic ص (you can even spot the similarity in form, I think). But Modern Hebrew has changed the pronunciation to that of German ‘z’ (as in ‘zahlen’ - “numbers”), undoubtedly an influence of Yiddish.
As for your assertion: why would anyone in their right minds be looking for a FALSE pretext for war with Iran? In order to bring about retaliation? Or maybe you think they would like to destabilise the region just for the fun of it?
Here is my assessment of the basic assumptions you have listed:
1. I agree Iran is not ripe fro regime change (a terrible condescending term);
2. I agree there is no evidence the regime in Iran is irrational - but I wouldn’t like to base my well-being on such an assumption;
3. Iran is inherently anti-American — this is true; the regime in Iran has a need to define itself in opposition to some outside force, as the Soviet Union did.
4. Enrichment equals a nuclear bomb — definitely true. The Iranians aren’t pursuing this for intellectual glee.
5. Iran seeks Israel’s destruction — does this needs reassessing??? You must be joking! Of course this assertion (I wouldn’t call it an assumption) is true; for modern fundamentalists this constitutes a religious imperative (though I’ve heard there is a sura which states, quite to the contrary, that Palestine belongs to the Jews. However if true, I’m sure that the likes of Ahmadinezad, when pressed, would define it away).
6. The pressure on Iran is not working, in fact cannot work, being that it is almost non-existent.
7. Stability in the Middle East will not be achieved in our lifetimes.
Posted by: RCS | November 2nd, 2007 at 5:21 pm | Report this commentHi RCS,
- I can see from your description that Tzipi is the same as Arabic Safoora!
- Usrael would love to destroy the larger Muslim nation states and reduce them to bickering statelets quite like what obtains in much of Africa. That way they would be easy to dominate and their natural resources can be looted easily, like Sierra Leone etc.
I agree with you on 1, 2, 3 and 7 (although 7 is to a great extent a function of USraeli behaviour.)
On 6, there is plenty of pressure but it simply stiffens the resolve of the Iranians.
On 4 and 5 you are entirely wrong and are simply following the “party line”.
Best,
P
Posted by: Pacifist | November 2nd, 2007 at 5:48 pm | Report this commentPOPULAR LINGUISTICS CONT.
Dear Pacifist,
Where from ’safoora’? My Arab colleague has just enlightened me: ‘asfoora’(female bird) - though he adds that the Baha’is possibly pronounce it as you do.
Posted by: RCS | November 4th, 2007 at 12:45 pm | Report this commentHi RCS,
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/s/safura.html
See above. Safura / Safoora transliterated slightly differently.
(As far as I know, “Usfoor” means sparrow in Arabic and Safoora /Safura is female sparrow and a girls’ name but I defer to any Arabic speakers who may care to comment.)
Best,
P
Posted by: Pacifist | November 5th, 2007 at 10:19 am | Report this commentPacifist,
Seems you are right. Possibly ‘usfoor’ is Palestinian Arabic while ’safoora’ is Quranic. Since my colleague is Christian, he may not have known this.
Posted by: RCS | November 5th, 2007 at 11:56 am | Report this commentHi RCS,
afaik, Usfoor is standard Arabic. It is the word used in the Arabic equivalent of the expression “A bird in hand is better than 2 in the bush”.
(The arabic vesrion says it is better than two in the air!)
Hopefully, a native speaker, passing these columns, will clarify
Best,
P
Posted by: Pacifist | November 5th, 2007 at 12:40 pm | Report this commentRCS “Tzipi Livni — can’t stand her. She is a self-righteous mediocre politician with the mannerisms of a school-teacher (sorry, WCM). In any case, I wouldn’t trust her judgement.”
Who is on the horizon?…Yossi Beilin is marginalized, Chaim Ramon is disgraced, Amiram Nir is dead…Herut/Likud never had any younger stars waiting in the wings and still does not…Barak will be recycled to run against Netanyahu in next election…it appears Barak’s political strategy is to now outdo Netanyahu in sounding like a hardliner…Netanyahu, instead of using the good mind that God and his US education gave him has spent his entire life trying to please his right wing father…it’s quite a mess…
Posted by: Lisa-Helene Lawson | November 6th, 2007 at 3:30 am | Report this commentThere is no horizon. The whole of Israeli politics is in a state of
disgrace. Personally my dream prime minister would have been former Chief of the General Staff Moshe Ya’alon - whom I admire for his intelligence, integrity and high principles - but he seems not to be interested.
What do you mean by: “…the good mind…that his US education gave him…”??? As far as I know the achievements of the American school system are nothing to be smug about.
Posted by: RCS | November 6th, 2007 at 6:53 am | Report this commentHi RCS,
Now that you have a dearth of candidtates, and seeing that you have had Iranian-born presidents before, we have a young-ish president that we would like to export to you.
P
Posted by: Pacifist | November 6th, 2007 at 10:32 am | Report this commentThis run of comments on Israeli politics is interesting. I realise how little I know of some of these people. Why is there so little in-depth or critical coverage of what really goes on in Israël in the FT or any other leading news source? I think it deserves placement under a new header, however.
Posted by: WCM | November 6th, 2007 at 11:03 am | Report this commentPacifist,
Thank you, but no more Iranian-born presidents please! : )
An interesting similarity between many Middle Eastern born politicians in Israel is that they come from very disadvantaged backgrounds; in the heirarchial societies of their origins, no-one would have expected them to rise to such prominence. I once had a discussion with someone from Morrocco, who declined to believe that Amir Peretz was from a certain village. After I proved this to him he exclaimed: “He’s a real peasant then!”. However, in Israel, all “Morroccans” were to be grouped under the same general rubric from an Ashkenazi viewpoint. At first they were frowned upon. But after the unavoidable corrective arrived, this became an advantage for some, as the playing-field had been levelled. So the process may have had hiccups at first, but ultimately is a good thing.
Posted by: RCS | November 6th, 2007 at 1:46 pm | Report this commentRCS, Well,I think Netanyahu went to university here in US, and due to his age it was a pre-PC period or on the cusp…he understands what to do with Israel’s economy and he did it…he did not to a bad job when dealing with the Finanace portfolio…I think he does have a good mind…but he is totally handicapped by ideology he grew up the middle son at his father’s Jabotinsky alter, a difficult father, whom he could never please…no matter how right wing he sounded or became…but you are correct it is a disgrace…the entire system and even Peres in particular went against grooming new leadership…
Posted by: Lisa-Helene Lawson | November 6th, 2007 at 3:01 pm | Report this comment