How We’re Animalistic — in Good Ways and Bad: MAUREEN DOWD - Neocons' Animal Politics + by MAUREEN DOWD - THE NEW YORK TIMES Wednesday May 30th, 2007 6:18 AM
THE COMPLETE ARTICLE AND MORE --> OP-ED COLUMNIST How We’re Animalistic — in Good Ways and Bad By MAUREEN DOWD Published: May 30, 2007 Thumos and Thucydides, for modern times. The odd thing is that conservatives wear pinstriped suits, when they really should be walking around in togas. The main contribution of the Greeks to modern American politics may have been Michael Dukakis, who once climbed the Acropolis in wingtips. But that doesn’t stop conservatives — especially the Straussians who pushed for going into Iraq — from being obsessed with ancient Greece, and from believing that they are the successors to Plato and Homer in terms of the lofty ideals and nobility and character in American politics — while Democrats merely muck about with policies for the needy. Harvey Mansfield, a leading Straussian who teaches political science at Harvard and who wrote a book called “Manliness” (he’s for it), gave the Jefferson lecture recently at the National Endowment for the Humanities in Washington. It was an ode, as his book is, to “thumos,” the Greek word that means spiritedness, with flavors of ambition, pride and brute willfulness. Thumos, as Philip Kennicott wrote in The Washington Post, “is a word reinvented by conservative academics who need to put a fancy name on a political philosophy that boils down to ‘boys will be boys.’ ” Mr. Mansfield did not mention the war, which is a downer at conclaves of neocons and thumos worshippers. But he explained that thumos is “the bristling reaction of an animal in face of a threat or a possible threat.” In thumos, he added, “we see the animality of man, for men (and especially males) often behave like dogs barking, snakes hissing, birds flapping. But precisely here we also see the humanity of the human animal” because it is reacting for “a reason, even for a principle, a cause. Only human beings get angry.” [Related: Kristol and Kagan: ‘Put Everything’ Behind Escalation So We Can Bomb Iran and Syria] --MORE-- http://mparent7777-2.blogspot.com/2007/05/animal-politics.html Posted by CRIMES AND CORRUPTION OF THE NEW WORLD ORDER NEWS mparent7777 Marc Parent CCNWON Labels: 'surge', Dowd, fred kagan, Iran, Iraq, Leo Strauss, Maureen Dowd, neocons, New York Times, News, Politics, Syria, war Israeli ministers call for invasion of Gaza: "Destroy a village or two" http://mparent7777-2.blogspot.com/2007/05/destroy-village-or-two-cut-off-their.html The body bags on the assembly line of death are now "bi-partisan" http://mparent7777-2.blogspot.com/2007/05/body-bags-on-assembly-line-of-death-are.html 'I hope and pray that President Bush will bomb Iran': Top neocon in the WSJ http://mparent7777-2.blogspot.com/2007/05/i-hope-and-pray-that-president-bush.html CRIMES AND CORRUPTION OF THE NEW WORLD ORDER NEWSWIRE - MAY 29, 2007 http://mparent7777-2.blogspot.com/2007/05/crimes-and-corruption-of-new-world_30.html And More http://mparent7777-2.blogspot.com/ http://www.wakeupfromyourslumber.com/blog/38 --------------------------------- All new Yahoo! Mail - --------------------------------- Get a sneak peak at messages with a handy reading pane.
