The Weasel, Twelve Monkeys And The Shrub
I spent the last hour reading the words of a dead man.
It was a very moving experience.
The author was David Foster Wallace, who took his own life on Friday. What a tragedy, because this man really had a way with words.
The piece I read was written eight and a half years ago, as David followed John McCain during the 2000 election primaries. Despite the age of the piece, many of the points made about "going negative" in a campaign, and how voters are torn when trying to determine a candidate's authenticity, could have been written today.
The piece is so well written, that I was awed by his prowess with words and doubly saddened that this voice is now forever silent. And it made me wonder what has happened to the straight-talking man McCain was back then. Or if he even was, or was merely a good actor, putting on a show. And how applicable the lessons of that campaign are to 2008. How Americans say they hate negative advertising and yet are swayed by it. How dirty your opponent can get and lie their way out of. How complicit the media can be in giving us Spin.
So I ask you to please take the time to read this article, which was written for Rolling Stone. It won't make you vote one way or the other, but it will ask you to examine the way politics and the press are trying to manipulate you. Despite the positive way McCain is portrayed in the piece, I still plan to vote for Barack Obama, because I'm not sure McCain was ever that "authentic" and I certainly don't feel like he is now. I just enjoyed the magnificent writing so much, I wanted to share it with you.
PS, there's a glossary at the end explaining some of the abbreviations used in the piece.
The Weasel, Twelve Monkeys And The Shrub
It was a very moving experience.
The author was David Foster Wallace, who took his own life on Friday. What a tragedy, because this man really had a way with words.
The piece I read was written eight and a half years ago, as David followed John McCain during the 2000 election primaries. Despite the age of the piece, many of the points made about "going negative" in a campaign, and how voters are torn when trying to determine a candidate's authenticity, could have been written today.
The piece is so well written, that I was awed by his prowess with words and doubly saddened that this voice is now forever silent. And it made me wonder what has happened to the straight-talking man McCain was back then. Or if he even was, or was merely a good actor, putting on a show. And how applicable the lessons of that campaign are to 2008. How Americans say they hate negative advertising and yet are swayed by it. How dirty your opponent can get and lie their way out of. How complicit the media can be in giving us Spin.
So I ask you to please take the time to read this article, which was written for Rolling Stone. It won't make you vote one way or the other, but it will ask you to examine the way politics and the press are trying to manipulate you. Despite the positive way McCain is portrayed in the piece, I still plan to vote for Barack Obama, because I'm not sure McCain was ever that "authentic" and I certainly don't feel like he is now. I just enjoyed the magnificent writing so much, I wanted to share it with you.
PS, there's a glossary at the end explaining some of the abbreviations used in the piece.
The Weasel, Twelve Monkeys And The Shrub
posted by Marti at 1:57 PM
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