I often appreciate Fareed’s analysis, but then he stumbles into these blind spots that feel less like oversight and more like avoidance. Either he’s too cautious to say the truth outright or unwilling to admit what’s painfully obvious. That’s not just disappointing, it’s complicit.
I appreciate your feelings, Johan. Yet, I myself, often seem to find it difficult to recognize my own blindness. "Every picture has its shadows, and it has some source of light: Blindness, Blindness and Sight." - thus I have heard (sung by great voices). I think it's great though that you and X are probably helping Fareed discover and uncover his blind spots. Thanks for shining the light... "Come build by priests' bright standards, for our own ideals we fight, wrong, wrong & right..." (see YouTube video of Joni Mitchell concert "Shadows and Light" featuring these words that she sings with "THE PERSUASIONS") "... (after the opening few lines early in the video when they sing the opening few lines, you need to skip to about minute number 105 to hear the completion of the profound lyrics)..."The perils of benefactors, the blessings of their insights: Blindness, Blindness and Sight. Threatened by all things: devil of Cruelty. Drawn to all things: god of Delight - Mythical Devil of the ever-present laws governing: Day, Day and Night. Critics of all expression, lovers in black and white: Saying it's wrong, saying it's right... Men of Cruelty, Men of Delight - Keepers of the ever-broken laws: Governing Wrong, Wrong & Right...wrong and right..."
May you & all beings be free of suffering & the cause of suffering - frankly speaking-FTJ
I am in a phase of life at 63, where many myths I wholeheartedly believed are being dismantled. The of value of a university higher education taking me beyond simple reading, writing and math. The promises of developing my ability to evaluate, question, be curious, to verify sources uncover biases …to hone discernment / to honor the value of my own life experiences.
The value of a marriage partnership being a safe and satisfying union- a sacred relationship- chosen by two people who shared mutual respect and esteem, commitment, ethics, effort, and values.
The value of generational reciprocal care. Of respect for our loved ones at all ages and stages of this mortal human life.
Finally the dismantling of the myth of the country my grandparents felt blessed to set foot in, the struggle, the dangers, the suffering and difficulties endured to make it to these United States- and their unshakable faith in the USA as a land of opportunity, refuge, freedom, justice, hope, peace.
My ancestors wanted so much for us: beyond food, clothing, safety, and shelter…they longed desperately for freedom, inclusion, equity , compassion and respect education and opportunity. The end of persecution, of being born into an identity that was automatically - and seemingly arbitrarily-
denied the civil and human rights that they’d never had.
Ray BeckahBee, i read your post with great interest; only it seemed there was more to say.
Maybe it's because i'm older generation? But i would have added the myth of eternal youth, foisted on us by the advert industry. OMG, now that i'm thinking about it, there are just so many more "myths" that could be added.
Yes, those observations are good additions Mikey. There are so many more…the myth of the binary vs. the spectrum. We’re taught that so many things are either/or - it’s one or the it’s the other, but reality is so much more varied and complex than that. Nuance is not honored. The myth of the promise and power of money. 💵 The belief in our ability to control other people, circumstances. I believe we do have influence, but I am not all powerful.
Wow. i consumed Fareed Zakaria's story (thanks for the link Xplisset) and agreed with nearly everything. And then i read your critique (for desert). Bit of an eye opener that. Curiously, to me anyway, i could not find fault with your reasoning/analysis.
Well, how can one's paradigm include both? It has dawned on me that is pretty much exactly what you are trying to "teach"; 2 different interpretations of the constitution (and related founding docs). The one describing what the governing structure for white, affluent, propertied male elite was to be, and the interpretation to be applied to the rest. There are of course nuances here. Those elites were upheld by the constitution, because it was written by and for them.. My white (caucasian) ancestors, tho poor and mostly uneducated, got a little better "deal" than the rest; The non-whites (negroes, so called) were deemed sub-human and not included in the category "men". Women, of course, are not men, so excluded. Natives were "savages", to be forced to "civilize", eliminated or just "encouraged" to die off. i'm so glad they didn't.
Anyhow, thanks for the eye-opener (dare i say wake up alert?). i think this piece is well written and entertaining too. i hope you are able to keep up the good work.
Thank you for this succinct response. Sometimes we writers overthink an idea into a tangled blob of spaghetti and then come across something that you wrote and we go “that’s it, that’s what I’ve been trying to to say!”. Bingo Mikey. I should make this comment the TLDR version lol.
I have such high regard for your "way with words," Brother X. Of course, it's more than the way you verbally express truth; it's the way you make me feel the truth that shines through your words. You remind me of words from the "most famous astrophysicist in the world," Neil DeGrasse Tyson that I heard in the Masterclass that he called "Scientific Thinking and Effective Communication." He said his dad was a preacher of the gospel who told him, "It's not enough to know the truth, you must also effectively communicate truth" (or words to that effect - I don't have a recording of his voice saying this but believe that's accurate - tricky business this "word-smithing" isn't it?). Along these lines, one of my favorite "gurus" ("spiritual-teacher/spiritual-friend") explained the Sanskrit term (for the 1st of 6 "Transcendental-Activities" on the Buddhist "Bodhisattva Path") that most scholars have called "generosity" is better understood as "communication." It takes a lot more words and periods of meditation to understand that - maybe I'll be able to do that using long-form fiction, one of these days. Sorry if I got too verbose here. I'm working on becoming clearer and more succinct. You boost my spirit. Thanks... (I expected there to already be at least 400 comments to this excellent explicit post of yours by the time of my tardy arrival on this scene - come on folks, sound-off, will you please, we can't hear you!!!) ...
Trump with his art of the deal buffoonery was inevitable in a nation that has long spoken out of both sides of its mouth. He plays the populist while banking billions.
From the beginning we’ve displaced native Americans, attempting to destroy their culture, bought and sold human slaves for free labor, and abused economic power to enrich the few at the expense of many. All while espousing freedom and democracy. So nothing new here, but, we may be beginning to recognizing our duplicity more clearly.
Zareed, like most people of privilege has perhaps adjusted his views to align with his status and the people he shares it with. This is Old Testament stuff “it’s easier for a wealthy man to pass through the eye of a needle…….” Wealth distorts reality and corrodes integrity yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Until we shape a new value system where money doesn’t rule, nothing will change. New players, same game.
Diane Love, you said (in part) "but, we may be beginning to recognizing our duplicity more clearly." Nice to meet you, for there lies the my hope. And with god of course.
Wow this might be one of your best pieces. I was really impressed. Yeah definitely saw something there. And she was humiliated. That didn’t look right. And he should’ve never done her like that. What I will say though. I just keep it a buck. She’s a great woman. I don’t agree with his politics. But she is a great woman so it’s tough seeing her have to stand there and just take that.
Penetrating, so worthwhile. I am not surprised that more and more people are finding your writing valuable, and sharing it. Thank you for urging us forward and maintaining hope that our better angels will win out.
After a brief spell (incantation) of reciting the Pledge of Allegiance first thing after roll call, I made a few "corrections" according to my 6 year old observations in 1972.
"I pledge subservience to the shroud of the Police State of America, and damn the repressed on whom it stands, one corporation under fear, reprehensible, with liberty for those who can afford it and justice forsaken."
My early indoctrinaries were unimpressed with my edits, but I discovered influence.
David Gardner, now that you gave me the idea, i'm going to work on some mg (that's me) lyrics to better reflect my experience.....in the land of the slave, and the home of the free (those with the power and influence).
"You walk out of class thinking racism is a sad chapter, not an operating system. The test on Friday is about the chapter. The operating system runs the school."
DAMN.
Damn, damn, damn.....
Thank you for the new lenses. I never knew what the hell that blur in front of me was, and I'm sorry for that.
One of these days, if I ever have an extra buck, it needs to go to you. Always hopeful...
Prof Sipwell, triple damn, i agree! This Xplisset missed his calling, unless he is already a writer...except, what more important stories to share at this time, in this place? As Diane Love said, "we may be beginning to recognizing our duplicity more clearly." That is in substantial part thanks to....adept, insightful, true-telling journalists such as Xplisset.
Thanks, Bill, I appreciate you voicing your concerns in this manner, but I think there is room for both short and long essays. Different strokes for different folks - and at different times. Sometimes I'm in the mood for in-depth profound specific analysis, and at other times brief pithiness. An adage I find helpful is, "The only thing that never changes in this world is the fact that everything is always changing..."
Devil's in the details, and there are a lot of important details on many fronts. Most in this specific group are underreported or ignored by legacy media (or what's left of it). And it's nice to have receipts for follow up.
Bill Alstrom, for myself i appreciate all that info in one go. Being older and single-retired i have the luxury of some xtra time. i also have the curse of memory probs, so all in one for me!
Brilliant! At 9 I was reading Childhood of Famous Americans. I remember the shimmer of pride I felt while reading it. I believed every word though it was fictionalized. A bittersweet memory from my past that belongs in the past.
In 1958, John Kenneth Galbraith coined the term "conventional wisdom" in his prescient masterpiece, The Affluent Society. What Jefferson claimed to be unalienable truth in the quotable Constitution is merely the ultimate American example of what Galbraith was describing.
great line: "you built a whole career analyzing a rigged casino as if it were a math problem"
Absolutely one of the best lines in the article!
Yep, you’re spot on.
I often appreciate Fareed’s analysis, but then he stumbles into these blind spots that feel less like oversight and more like avoidance. Either he’s too cautious to say the truth outright or unwilling to admit what’s painfully obvious. That’s not just disappointing, it’s complicit.
And sadly, it fits the pattern.
I appreciate your feelings, Johan. Yet, I myself, often seem to find it difficult to recognize my own blindness. "Every picture has its shadows, and it has some source of light: Blindness, Blindness and Sight." - thus I have heard (sung by great voices). I think it's great though that you and X are probably helping Fareed discover and uncover his blind spots. Thanks for shining the light... "Come build by priests' bright standards, for our own ideals we fight, wrong, wrong & right..." (see YouTube video of Joni Mitchell concert "Shadows and Light" featuring these words that she sings with "THE PERSUASIONS") "... (after the opening few lines early in the video when they sing the opening few lines, you need to skip to about minute number 105 to hear the completion of the profound lyrics)..."The perils of benefactors, the blessings of their insights: Blindness, Blindness and Sight. Threatened by all things: devil of Cruelty. Drawn to all things: god of Delight - Mythical Devil of the ever-present laws governing: Day, Day and Night. Critics of all expression, lovers in black and white: Saying it's wrong, saying it's right... Men of Cruelty, Men of Delight - Keepers of the ever-broken laws: Governing Wrong, Wrong & Right...wrong and right..."
May you & all beings be free of suffering & the cause of suffering - frankly speaking-FTJ
Very well said, if it's true. Myself, i'm not familiar with his work to make such judgement.
I am in a phase of life at 63, where many myths I wholeheartedly believed are being dismantled. The of value of a university higher education taking me beyond simple reading, writing and math. The promises of developing my ability to evaluate, question, be curious, to verify sources uncover biases …to hone discernment / to honor the value of my own life experiences.
The value of a marriage partnership being a safe and satisfying union- a sacred relationship- chosen by two people who shared mutual respect and esteem, commitment, ethics, effort, and values.
The value of generational reciprocal care. Of respect for our loved ones at all ages and stages of this mortal human life.
Finally the dismantling of the myth of the country my grandparents felt blessed to set foot in, the struggle, the dangers, the suffering and difficulties endured to make it to these United States- and their unshakable faith in the USA as a land of opportunity, refuge, freedom, justice, hope, peace.
My ancestors wanted so much for us: beyond food, clothing, safety, and shelter…they longed desperately for freedom, inclusion, equity , compassion and respect education and opportunity. The end of persecution, of being born into an identity that was automatically - and seemingly arbitrarily-
denied the civil and human rights that they’d never had.
Ray BeckahBee, i read your post with great interest; only it seemed there was more to say.
Maybe it's because i'm older generation? But i would have added the myth of eternal youth, foisted on us by the advert industry. OMG, now that i'm thinking about it, there are just so many more "myths" that could be added.
Yes, those observations are good additions Mikey. There are so many more…the myth of the binary vs. the spectrum. We’re taught that so many things are either/or - it’s one or the it’s the other, but reality is so much more varied and complex than that. Nuance is not honored. The myth of the promise and power of money. 💵 The belief in our ability to control other people, circumstances. I believe we do have influence, but I am not all powerful.
Wow. i consumed Fareed Zakaria's story (thanks for the link Xplisset) and agreed with nearly everything. And then i read your critique (for desert). Bit of an eye opener that. Curiously, to me anyway, i could not find fault with your reasoning/analysis.
Well, how can one's paradigm include both? It has dawned on me that is pretty much exactly what you are trying to "teach"; 2 different interpretations of the constitution (and related founding docs). The one describing what the governing structure for white, affluent, propertied male elite was to be, and the interpretation to be applied to the rest. There are of course nuances here. Those elites were upheld by the constitution, because it was written by and for them.. My white (caucasian) ancestors, tho poor and mostly uneducated, got a little better "deal" than the rest; The non-whites (negroes, so called) were deemed sub-human and not included in the category "men". Women, of course, are not men, so excluded. Natives were "savages", to be forced to "civilize", eliminated or just "encouraged" to die off. i'm so glad they didn't.
Anyhow, thanks for the eye-opener (dare i say wake up alert?). i think this piece is well written and entertaining too. i hope you are able to keep up the good work.
Thank you for this succinct response. Sometimes we writers overthink an idea into a tangled blob of spaghetti and then come across something that you wrote and we go “that’s it, that’s what I’ve been trying to to say!”. Bingo Mikey. I should make this comment the TLDR version lol.
Another superb piece of on-point writing!
I have such high regard for your "way with words," Brother X. Of course, it's more than the way you verbally express truth; it's the way you make me feel the truth that shines through your words. You remind me of words from the "most famous astrophysicist in the world," Neil DeGrasse Tyson that I heard in the Masterclass that he called "Scientific Thinking and Effective Communication." He said his dad was a preacher of the gospel who told him, "It's not enough to know the truth, you must also effectively communicate truth" (or words to that effect - I don't have a recording of his voice saying this but believe that's accurate - tricky business this "word-smithing" isn't it?). Along these lines, one of my favorite "gurus" ("spiritual-teacher/spiritual-friend") explained the Sanskrit term (for the 1st of 6 "Transcendental-Activities" on the Buddhist "Bodhisattva Path") that most scholars have called "generosity" is better understood as "communication." It takes a lot more words and periods of meditation to understand that - maybe I'll be able to do that using long-form fiction, one of these days. Sorry if I got too verbose here. I'm working on becoming clearer and more succinct. You boost my spirit. Thanks... (I expected there to already be at least 400 comments to this excellent explicit post of yours by the time of my tardy arrival on this scene - come on folks, sound-off, will you please, we can't hear you!!!) ...
"Sound-off, will you?" OK. My comment to you, Frank Talk Jr. is: tell it brother!
Trump with his art of the deal buffoonery was inevitable in a nation that has long spoken out of both sides of its mouth. He plays the populist while banking billions.
From the beginning we’ve displaced native Americans, attempting to destroy their culture, bought and sold human slaves for free labor, and abused economic power to enrich the few at the expense of many. All while espousing freedom and democracy. So nothing new here, but, we may be beginning to recognizing our duplicity more clearly.
Zareed, like most people of privilege has perhaps adjusted his views to align with his status and the people he shares it with. This is Old Testament stuff “it’s easier for a wealthy man to pass through the eye of a needle…….” Wealth distorts reality and corrodes integrity yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Until we shape a new value system where money doesn’t rule, nothing will change. New players, same game.
Diane Love, you said (in part) "but, we may be beginning to recognizing our duplicity more clearly." Nice to meet you, for there lies the my hope. And with god of course.
Wow this might be one of your best pieces. I was really impressed. Yeah definitely saw something there. And she was humiliated. That didn’t look right. And he should’ve never done her like that. What I will say though. I just keep it a buck. She’s a great woman. I don’t agree with his politics. But she is a great woman so it’s tough seeing her have to stand there and just take that.
Penetrating, so worthwhile. I am not surprised that more and more people are finding your writing valuable, and sharing it. Thank you for urging us forward and maintaining hope that our better angels will win out.
You know, X, I was going to say that. All of it. Took the words right out me mouth ya did, dincha?
After a brief spell (incantation) of reciting the Pledge of Allegiance first thing after roll call, I made a few "corrections" according to my 6 year old observations in 1972.
"I pledge subservience to the shroud of the Police State of America, and damn the repressed on whom it stands, one corporation under fear, reprehensible, with liberty for those who can afford it and justice forsaken."
My early indoctrinaries were unimpressed with my edits, but I discovered influence.
David Gardner, now that you gave me the idea, i'm going to work on some mg (that's me) lyrics to better reflect my experience.....in the land of the slave, and the home of the free (those with the power and influence).
Wow, telling it like it really is, and with amazing writing.
Thank you!
"You walk out of class thinking racism is a sad chapter, not an operating system. The test on Friday is about the chapter. The operating system runs the school."
DAMN.
Damn, damn, damn.....
Thank you for the new lenses. I never knew what the hell that blur in front of me was, and I'm sorry for that.
One of these days, if I ever have an extra buck, it needs to go to you. Always hopeful...
Prof Sipwell, triple damn, i agree! This Xplisset missed his calling, unless he is already a writer...except, what more important stories to share at this time, in this place? As Diane Love said, "we may be beginning to recognizing our duplicity more clearly." That is in substantial part thanks to....adept, insightful, true-telling journalists such as Xplisset.
Yes. Agreed. Big time agree.
Just a suggestion from a Substack author. If you are open to it.
Spot on over and over again. But its too long for here.
Divide and conquer if you want to appeal more broadly.
Just a suggestion.
Whatever you do, keep on keepin' on.
Thanks, Bill, I appreciate you voicing your concerns in this manner, but I think there is room for both short and long essays. Different strokes for different folks - and at different times. Sometimes I'm in the mood for in-depth profound specific analysis, and at other times brief pithiness. An adage I find helpful is, "The only thing that never changes in this world is the fact that everything is always changing..."
Au contraire, Substack can use more of this: long and worthwhile treatments of important ideas.
Devil's in the details, and there are a lot of important details on many fronts. Most in this specific group are underreported or ignored by legacy media (or what's left of it). And it's nice to have receipts for follow up.
Looks like I am a minority here! The "long form" has support.
Bottom line? Just a discussion of technique. I'll read it regardless. My goal was merely a suggestion to encourage wider distribution of the messages.
Most people don't have the time or bandwidth to read very long letters.
But to each his own. I probably make my letters too long as well :)
Bill Alstrom, for myself i appreciate all that info in one go. Being older and single-retired i have the luxury of some xtra time. i also have the curse of memory probs, so all in one for me!
Brilliant! At 9 I was reading Childhood of Famous Americans. I remember the shimmer of pride I felt while reading it. I believed every word though it was fictionalized. A bittersweet memory from my past that belongs in the past.
In 1958, John Kenneth Galbraith coined the term "conventional wisdom" in his prescient masterpiece, The Affluent Society. What Jefferson claimed to be unalienable truth in the quotable Constitution is merely the ultimate American example of what Galbraith was describing.