All The More Reason

Occasionally, one comes upon a writer that writes that so simply and so clearly that it is really quite humbling to read. The linguist Geoffrey K. Pullum is such a man. Here is a link to his writings. Although there are so many pieces of his to choose from, and I may delve into them in the future here, today I thought I would draw attention to a recent piece of his about Islamic Fascism. Here’s a quote:

“Fascism” is not a bad term to pick for the kind of nightmare that would probably result if a global Islamic caliphate were to be established by the sort of Waziristan cave denizens who issue taped messages encouraging disaffected young Pakistanis in Britain to go out and blow themselves and a few hundred passengers to pieces on a train or a plane to glorify Allah. (Yes, I despise this corrupt cult of mass slaughter and theocratic bigotry. Did you think I would be all latte-sipping gooey-relativist about it?) The opposition to individual rights, free markets, choice in lifestyle, tolerance in religion, and expression of dissent of the jihadists is plangent.

Now plangent is a word I did not know until a few minutes ago. I define not knowing as to mean whether or not I would have felt comfortable giving a definition as opposed to simply being aware that it was a word. I would bet other writers on this blog are not so ignorant. Nevertheless, in thinking and writing about politics, we can only do ourselves benefit by casting the net long and wide in choosing whom to read.

Jonathan Smith