Re: Good article on Jared Diamond

[Carl Remick <carlremick@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> From: Jim Devine <jdevine03@xxxxxxxxx>
> >
> me:
> > >I don't think the issue is whether one likes or dislikes Diamond. It's
> > >his work that's relevant.
>
> On 8/11/05, Carl Remick  wrote:
> > It's nice to think so, but Diamond -- as a major brand-name academic
> > humanist -- does a severe disservice to any progressive cause through
> his
> > fatuous endorsement of self-aggrandizing CEOs as mensches.
>
> do lefties salute when Diamond walks by? I never chose him as my
> leader, while he wasn't put in any position allowing him to make
> decisions for me or anyone else, so I don't see the point of getting
> personal.

Just in:  This is not the Age of Ideas; it is the Age of Celebrities.

Star power is what connotes credibility to the public at large, not
intellectual validity.  Anyone who receives three hours of fawning attention
on PBS is ipso facto a celebrity and should exercise discretion about who he
endorses.

Carl