[Peace-discuss] Fw: The Pitfalls and Possibilities of Orwellian "Pragmatism"

[unionyes]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Sirota" <ds at davidsirota.com>
To: <unionyes at ameritech.net>
Sent: Friday, November 28, 2008 9:37 AM
Subject: The Pitfalls and Possibilities of Orwellian "Pragmatism"


>
> The Pitfalls and Possibilities of Orwellian "Pragmatism"
>
> By David Sirota
>
> Campaign for America's Future, 11/28/08
>
> If you've been reading the newspaper or watching television recently,
> you probably noticed the sudden ubiquity of the word "pragmatic."
> President-elect Obama has repeatedly used the term to describe his
> new administration, citing it in juxtaposition to "ideology." The
> media has followed his lead with lines like the one we see in today's
> Politico, which says Obama's new economic adviser Christina Romer
> "shares much of Summer's centrist, pragmatic perspective on economic
> issues."
>
> Salon.com's Glenn Greenwald has written extensively on the Orwellian
> nature of the term "pragmatic" (here and here) noting that the term -
> and others like it ("competent," etc.) - were used to describe Dick
> Cheney when he entered the vice presidency. I just want to add one
> thing - politicians and the chattering class may be portraying
> "pragmatism" as substitute for ideology, but any honest look
> indicates that "pragmatism" is mostly being used in the political
> debate as a euphemism for conservative ideology - and not some new
> and reformed conservative ideology, but the same stultified and rigid
> one that was just resoundingly rejected by the electorate.
>
> To read the full post, go to:
>
> http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2008114828/pitfalls-and-possibilities-orwellian-pragmatism
>
>
>
> To unsubscribe from this list visit
> http://davidsirota.com/list/?p=unsubscribe&uid=5edadc27fa20261b3da87e2235709d3b
> To update your preferences visit
> http://davidsirota.com/list/?p=preferences&uid=5edadc27fa20261b3da87e2235709d3b
> To forward this message to a friend visit
> http://davidsirota.com/list/?p=forward&uid=5edadc27fa20261b3da87e2235709d3b&mid=1747
>
>
> --
> Powered by PHPlist, www.phplist.com --
>
>
>
>
> -- 
> No virus found in this incoming message.
> Checked by AVG.
> Version: 7.5.552 / Virus Database: 270.9.11/1817 - Release Date: 
> 11/28/2008 8:17 AM
>
>