Debate at Mangan’s Miscellany continuing

I haven’t yet gotten to the white status competition comments which I’m eager to post and reply to, because VFR has been “on the road” today, at Dennis Mangan’s blog, where I have been busy replying to an attack on me by Hesperado, a.k.a. Erich. He argues that my account of a ubiquitous liberalism dominating the West is so strange, “paradoxical,” and “pretzel-like” in its “taffy-like contortions” that the only possible explanation he can find for my odd behavior is that I am a gnostic thinker who is damning our entire civilization in favor of a hidden truth. Basically, it’s a higher-IQ version of the usual attempts to discredit me. It would really be fun sometime to have a chance to respond to intelligent, good-faith criticism of my writings that attacks what I’ve actually said, rather a fun-house version of what I’ve said. I can dream, can’t I?

I have to go out for a while, but later tonight I’ll be posting a long comment that I hope will be the last in that thread. I can dream, can’t I?

- end of initial entry -

Gintas writes:

You wrote:

“It would really be fun sometime to have a chance to respond to intelligent, good-faith criticism of my writings that attacks what I’ve actually said, rather a fun-house version of what I’ve said. I can dream, can’t I?”

This is standard argument practice in America today. At work I am arguing for the traditional American culture / civilization, which explicitly includes the customs and laws we’ve inherited, which includes our Constitution. Yet someone rants that I am suggesting that a 51-49 vote determines what is right and what is true.

It’s just ridiculous to have to refute such points; maybe they are made to wear you down so you just give up the battlefield altogether in frustration. I am arguing with a purist libertarian, so it’s the only ammo he has.

I think if you get involved, thought, you have to fight to the end, even the ugly Orcs; some readers agree with you, and you don’t want to dishearten them by quitting the field of battle.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at November 16, 2008 07:38 PM | Send