Fraters Libertas

The City Pages is Revolting!

This week’s City Pages attempts to take a chunk of out Lileks’s hide, with an article by Dennis Perrin called “The Blogger at War”.

I suppose it was inevitable that Lileks would suffer a hit piece in the press over his war-related writing on The Bleat. He’s simply too effective a communicator to escape the wrath of those who jealously guard their own, conflicting world view as the TRUTH. Beyond Lileks’s unequaled ability to formulate and effectively communicate political analysis, he is most dangerous to the Left in the marketplace of ideas because of one quality in particular. He’s entertaining. A quality no one has ever attributed to the writing in the City Pages - except for maybe that girl who does the restaurant reviews.

Entertainment - an aspect of writing most of those who would presume to comment on politics forget about, can’t accomplish, or think is beneath them. Read any nationally syndicated political column (with the exception of Mark Steyn) for all the evidence you need on this.

Lileks doesn’t just blandly present his conclusions - although he could and still be on a par with the finest of pundits in this country. Instead, he conveys his points using satire, hyperbole, sarcasm, vivid imagery, metaphor, and hidden-in-plain-sight cultural references that rarely fail to amuse. His prose has energy, it flows and jumps, and as a result people want to read it. This contrasts with most political analysis (on both the Right and Left), which nobody with any sense really wants to read. Instead, it’s like taking medicine. We read it because it will provide some benefit to us later on.

Entertaining, amusing, interesting prose style - aspects of writing not present, not even attempted in this plodding, amateurish article by Perrin. As such, it's difficult to read, even if the topic is of interest. Of course, I read it twice. The first time just to see if Fraters Libertas got a mention. Sadly, it did not. At least not by name. Although I suspect we may be the inspiration for this line:

Lileks wasn't as bad as some of the keyboard warriors I'd read...

The specific criticisms offered by Perrin range from the weak to the absurd. The weak being the repeated charge that Lileks, when making some political point or other, didn’t consider and give equal time in print to all possible counter opinions. As if any opinion columnist in the history of editorializing has ever done this. And they haven’t because there would be no way to do so and retain any coherence or vitality.

The absurd criticism of Lileks has to do with the general tone of the Bleat itself. I quote:

Lileks has a different take and agenda, which brings us to the negative part of The Bleat: Lileks's crazed views about the current warscape.

That statement is so absurd, I have to wonder how long its author himself had to pause to laugh before he could write his next sentence.

Lileks - crazed views? I’ll let you read the examples Perrin provides as “crazed”. Even cherry-picked and out of context you can tell it’s typical Bleat material - informal, hilarious, insightful Lileks. Since Perrin characterizes these as “crazed”, I wonder if he even bothers to read the newspaper in which his article appears. Or if he has ever visited the blogs associated with the City Pages. I don’t think so. Because if he did, then he’d properly understand the definition of “crazed views.” Try Elaine Cassel’s wild-eyed ravings. Here’s an example, from her post on Christmas Day:

We are, I believe, among countries, the least Christian, the least decent, the least compassionate, the least kind government on the globe. Nowhere else can I think of does greed, power, corruption, vengeance, bigotry, and hatred more rule the day under the guise of Christianity and democracy than in the United States.

Better that we profess our evil, as do governments like those of Korea and China, and govern and rule honestly as despots, than that we hide under the guise of Christianity and democracy. 
 
So, Bah humbug on the Bush administration and all the evil it has perpetuated on the world this year.

Sounds like a fun, well-grounded gal, doesn’t she? And she writes like this every day! Is there anyone in the world with a pain threshold big enough to allow them read this kind of writing every day? When this is their offering in the war of ideas, no wonder the Left feels the need to gratuitously slur Lileks.

Need another example of crazed views? How’s about this oldie but goodie, from City Pages Editor Steve Perry’s blog:

In my heart, I still believe in revolution. In my heart, I still think I have the 'nads to put my life on the line for a cause. In my gut I think this is the only way we'll ever achieve our goals of economic and social justice. But in my head, I want to win the next election so we don't have to have a revolution.

Revolution! They’re threatening revolution! Unless Dick Gephardt or Howard Dean or Al Sharpton wins. That particular quote has now appeared three times on Fraters Libertas. And I’m still waiting for it to provoke an appropriate amount of derision from responsible media sources. Or blogs.

Maybe in context with their smearing of Lileks, it finally will attract the negative attention it deserves. The City Pages is threatening revolution if George W. Bush wins in 2004! Where’s the outrage!? Or is the outrage negated by the fact that nobody of substance reads the City Pages or takes them seriously? If that is the case, regarding my passionate defense of Lileks above - never mind.