Furthermore…

I sent an email to a friend who is a bit of an Anglophile.  The Saint of the Day a few days ago was about two English martyrs, and I was trying to call to his attention how brutally the English power structure had mistreated and executed the Catholics.

But his ‘take’ on the message was on the curious ways that many people sacrifice their lives for causes to which they have become devoted. He cited several examples from history.  It certainly is odd, he seemed to be saying, how some people could act so strangely, albeit heroically.

This was only a minor misunderstanding between friends, but in the wider world it has become de rigeur for spokesmen, reps, spin doctors and true believer activists to mechanically trot out partyline answers to, or interpretations of, any situation that comes before them. The unspoken assumption seems to be “Whatever the opponents say, just respond with counter-arguments, perhaps throwing in some attacks and fault-finding to bring them up short.” Sincere dialog is out of the question, much less synthesis.  It’s only a matter of unthinking thrust and parry, thrust and parry, and don’t give an inch.