{"id":4456,"date":"2006-03-26T22:27:22","date_gmt":"2006-03-27T02:27:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/formerlyknownas\/2006\/03\/26\/momentary-pauses\/"},"modified":"2011-08-05T14:54:03","modified_gmt":"2011-08-05T18:54:03","slug":"momentary-pauses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2006\/03\/26\/momentary-pauses\/","title":{"rendered":"momentary pauses"},"content":{"rendered":"

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It is always a pleasure to agree with a smart, good-looking woman. <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Nation<\/EM> editor and publisher <\/FONT><\/FONT>Katrina vanden Heuvel<\/FONT><\/A> is right: we all need <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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to “<\/FONT>Update Our Insults<\/FONT><\/A>,” and stop calling political opponents Hitlers, <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Stalins, Nazis, etc.  (Washington Post<\/EM>, March 26, 2006)<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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\"KatrinaVDH\"  <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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 <\/FONT>ms. vanden heuvel<\/FONT><\/EM><\/A><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/A><\/EM><\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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“Present differences deserve to be described in contem-<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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porary terms. The purpose of public speech is not just <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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to restate anger but to clarify the principles and evidence <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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that fuel it — in ways that invite discussion, not inhibit it. <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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The demons are already among us — so let’s muster up <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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some new analogies and declare a ceasefire on such <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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[antiquated] demonizing rhetoric . . . “<\/FONT><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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Sadly, though, I must report that Katrina has raised <\/FONT><\/FONT>my expectations, <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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only to dash them.  <\/FONT><\/FONT>In the second half of its awkward title, her WaPo<\/EM> <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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op\/ed <\/FONT>column today <\/FONT>seems to promise <\/FONT>“New Names to Call,<\/EM>” <\/FONT>in place <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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of the <\/FONT>historically <\/FONT>outdated epithets. <\/FONT> <\/FONT>  All we <\/FONT>get from her are quotes <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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from <\/FONT>politicians (and actors) calling their adver<\/FONT>saries by the old slurs.  <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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There is not even one<\/EM> suggested, modern <\/FONT>substitute.  As weblogger <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Jacques Hawtrey <\/FONT>points out<\/FONT><\/A>, we don’t even get a reference to a re-<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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cent, infamous eponymous Hurricane from Katrina. <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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\"tiny  Sorry, K, this workproduct doesn’t   “C-GradeG”  <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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merit so much as a C grade.  I’d be happy to <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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make a few suggestions, but that would be <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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condescending — especially to a woman who <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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has an entire magazine staff to help her research <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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and brainstorm.<\/FONT><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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Maybe a WaPo<\/EM> editor mistakenly cut out the bottom half <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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of the op\/ed piece.  Maybe Katrina was too busy preparing  <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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for Sunday morning talk shows.  I’ve got a “soft-spot” for <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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ya, Young Lady.  So, you get another week to finish this project. <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Please no Electra or Delilah tricks.  You might still get a <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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B+, if you live up to your potential.<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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on the face<\/EM><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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that last night called me names<\/EM><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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morning sunbeam<\/EM><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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   George Swede<\/STRONG><\/FONT><\/A> <\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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      from <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/SPAN>Almost<\/EM> Unseen<\/EM><\/STRONG><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/A><\/SPAN><\/FONT><\/DIV><\/FONT><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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 <\/DIV>
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\"umbrella  Another admission:  Mother Nature has let me down, <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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too, recently.   I’m among those described today the NYT<\/EM> op\/ed <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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piece, <\/FONT>A Momentary Pause<\/FONT><\/EM><\/A>, by Verlyn Klinkenborg (March 26, <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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2006):  <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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“I have to keep reminding myself that it is only late March. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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I have been so eager for spring that it feels as though time <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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has almost stopped. One reason may be that it was warm <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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a few weeks ago and then the cold returned, putting the <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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season on ice. But there is something else going on as well. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Scientists say that spring comes earlier than it used to. The <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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snow cover dwindles sooner and bud break comes earlier. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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And yet our awareness of that makes it feel as though spring <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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comes even earlier than it is already coming. Global warming <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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accelerates faster in our heads than it does in fact. March is <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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not quite the new April yet.” <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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You’ll find the same over-anticipation of “Spring-like weather” at <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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the joint haiku weblog UKKU Spring Haiku<\/EM><\/A>, and at my own <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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dagosan’s <\/EM>haiku diary<\/EM><\/A>.  <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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late March —
not a lamb
in sight<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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   <\/FONT>dagosan<\/FONT><\/A><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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Of course, we all know that the spring <\/FONT>equinox scarcely ever brings <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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consistently mild weather.  But, even <\/FONT>those of us who really dislike <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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summer’s heat, seem to yearn for <\/FONT>early Spring.  Although few of us <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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will be mending any fences, we <\/FONT>might all try to follow Klinkenborg’s <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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advice: <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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“In the country it’s easy to find yourself leaning forward <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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all through the year, always waiting on the next season, <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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getting through your life as though you were walking into <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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a stiff wind. This is one of those days when I catch myself <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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in that posture — pitched forward into the gale of time. So <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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I’ll try to slow down and straighten up.”<\/FONT><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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“THNLogoG” One woman who never disappoints the haijin in me is <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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our most Honored Guest Carolyn Hall<\/A>:<\/FONT><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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<\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN> <\/DIV>
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thunderstorm —
sunflowers
in a blue vase   <\/FONT><\/P><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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<\/FONT> <\/P>
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<\/FONT> <\/P><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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<\/FONT> <\/P>
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Sunday morning
ants on the rim of my
coffee cup   <\/FONT><\/P>
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<\/FONT> <\/P>
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<\/FONT> <\/P>
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the stranger’s binoculars
                 from hand to hand
chicks in the heron’s nest  <\/FONT><\/P>
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<\/FONT> <\/P>
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<\/FONT> <\/P>
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<\/FONT> <\/P>
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<\/FONT> <\/P><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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wilderness trail
the manicured poodle
still on a leash <\/FONT><\/P>
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<\/FONT> <\/P>
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Carolyn Hall<\/STRONG><\/FONT><\/A> from The Heron’s Nest<\/FONT><\/A><\/EM><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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“thunderstorm–” – (<\/FONT>I:4, Dec. 1999<\/FONT><\/A>)<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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“Sunday morning” – (<\/FONT>II:1, Jan. 2000<\/FONT><\/A>) <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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“the stranger’s binoculars” – (<\/FONT>II:4, April 2000<\/FONT><\/A>) <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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“wilderness trail” – (<\/FONT>II:11, Nov. 2000<\/FONT><\/A>)<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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afterthought<\/STRONG><\/EM> (11 PM, march 26):  I meant to mention the <\/FONT>op\/ed <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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piece today by Washington Post<\/EM> ombusman Deborah Howell, <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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The Post and the Whole Picture in Iraq<\/EM><\/A>.  It is an interesting <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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perspective on how hard it is to please the military, civilians <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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or reporters, with press coverage of Iraq by the Post<\/EM>.  After <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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noting that many readers see coverage through their own <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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political filters, Howell states: <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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“After talking and corresponding with Post staffers and other <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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journalists with Iraq experience and experts in and outside <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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the military, I find no easy resolution to the complaints.<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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“Here’s why:<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is always a pleasure to agree with a smart, good-looking woman.  Nation editor and publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel is right: we all need to “Update Our Insults,” and stop calling political opponents Hitlers, Stalins, Nazis, etc.  (Washington Post, March 26, 2006)      ms. vanden heuvel   “Present differences deserve to be described in contem- porary terms. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2926],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pre-06-2006"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6kP1R-19S","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/94"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4456"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4456\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12715,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4456\/revisions\/12715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}