Dear AGIR,

Your view of the world is static and simple.
In short, its a view that is profoundly
ignorant. Human societies are dynamic and
complex. They are not vessels for a singular
culture or religion; they are arenas in which
myriad cultures, countercultures, orthodoxies
and heresies compete perpetually for the
public imagination. This is frequently invisible
to those who view the world through Huntingtonian
spectacles.

ALGOREisRICH: >> SOG I respect your posts a lot. I'm wondering how you determine Beck is a 'Charlatan'...On what grounds please?
You need more that an hour on youtube.. you really need to see a full program over a week. Cheers.<<

Al, allow me to qualify my use of "charlatan"

It is not the message that I refer to, but rather the delivery method and possible reasons for the style adopted. The man grew up in a Roman Catholic family of German heritage who owned a small business; his political leaning was always going to be "right". He did not take the mandatory socialist teen trip that other young thinkers did.

Beck owns Mercury Radio Arts (he himself referes to it as an entertainment company) the platform from which he assaults the media. He is not just an over exuberant radio journo, his divisive and inflammatory style is couched to bring attention and capital return to Beck. I believe the sentiment and the personal importance of the opinions of OLO posters of all persuasions carry more idealistic values than does the rhetoric of Beck. He is in it for the money and the message is secondary to him.

I prefer the straight unembellished style of James Corbett over Beck. They both talk sense but I can envision only one holding a Nuremberg rally.

Foxy

Well said. I truly admire the considered patience you give to someone who offers only dogma and condescension - yes, I mean you AGIR. Dunno what you have written, but in view of my respect for Foxy's consistently high standard of reasoning, it must've been typically inconsiderate of the intellect and well-being of others.

Just for the record, anyone who considers Beck a man of deep thought and intellect, is probably very much like AGIR.

:D