Weblog Name: In Context
Subtitle/Tagline: con-text (kon'tekst) n. 1. the parts of a written or spoken statement that precede or follow a specified word or passage and can influence its meaning or effect. 2. the set of circumstances or facts that surround a particular event or situation
Focus: Israel
Author: "Lynn B"
Blogger Occupation: Unknown
Blogger Location: Unknown
Ecosystem Rank: Adorable Little Rodent
TTLBBE Unique Inbound Links: 54
Average Daily Visits: N/A
Last Post: November 10, 2003
Posting Frequency: 0.79 posts/day
Blog Age: 16.0 months
First on Blogroll: Meryl Yourish
Blogroll Organization: Unknown
Comments Allowed: No
Selected Post: Under the Bed
Excerpt:
Look. If you believe that a pluralistic democracy is a good thing, something that strengthens and nourishes the society it serves, then undermining pluralism could be seen as an effective weapon against an enemy. But if you believe that a pluralistic democracy is a bad thing, a sign of weakness and vulnerability, undermining it would be counterproductive. Instead, you would want to exploit it, even encourage it. And one way you might do this, just conceivably, especially if you realize that your enemy can't grasp the notion that you consider its strengths to be weaknesses, is to find a way to convince that enemy to hold ever tighter to idealized democratic and pluralistic "principles," like a security blanket that a child believes will protect against the world's unseen evils, the monsters under the bed.
Does this mean that pluralism, diversity, understanding and tolerance should be abandoned? Absolutely not. What it does mean, though, is that we need to take off the blinders and learn to differentiate between those aspects of our democracy that make us strong and those that make us weak. We need to resist clinging to ideals as a substitute for taking action. And we need to refuse to allow our most valuable principles to be turned against us.
Bonus Link: Laughing with "Allah" (my title)
Comment: This site is a member of the Blogmosis family of blogs. It focuses on Israel, and is well-written and interesting. Recommended.
As of: November 11, 2003
Posted by oscarjr at November 10, 2003 11:46 PM | TrackBack