This afternoon, as Joel and I drove up the Garden State Parkway, we heard a Chicago Public Radio show featuring Dana Villa, author of Socratic Citizenship. Mr. Villa was such a caricature of a relativist academe that the show—which is archived online—afforded us one of those classic conservative "Mystery Science Theater" opportunities to do our own running commnentary.
Although he was by every outward sign a relativist, Villa spoke of how it is possible for the masses to have an opinion that is, well, wrong. (Keep in mind the original air date of the show: November 8, 2004. Left-wingers had a lot of 'splainin' to do.) Villa described how mass opinion "congeals" and becomes "detached from reality." But his best quote—the one that sent me and Joel into paroxysms of laughter—was this:
"Perplexity is the prelude to thoughtfulness."
So that's why Americans support conservative causes! They're not confused enough. If they would only stop making up their minds, we could get some real thinking done.
Perhaps John Edwards was right about there being "two Americas." But I can't see why anyone would want to live in a ball of confusion when they could live in the home of the brave.
