Beyond Newt’s hyperbole over the relative weight of the “power grab” is his apparent disregard for a) what a dictatorship is, and b) that these new regulations would not exceed in scope those that already control the functions of commercial banks and other industries. I hate to break it to him, but the government already regulates everything down to his toilet seat with good reason, so regulating something as vast as Citi Group is probably in our best interest. [...]
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We cannot be held morally responsible for the highly improbable. Where we must own up to our complicity in decline is in those instances in which we caused the decline to be probable, more probable or even likely, whether directly or through the foreseeable acts of others, rational or irrational, moral or immoral. [...] All of my actions have consequences. Some of those might effect only an individual. Should I read Christopher Moore tonight, or James Gleick? It’s hard to conceive of how anyone except myself would be affected by this decision. But decisions that affect only a single individual are actually few and far between. What if my earlier question had been, “Should I watch Chuck tonight, or House?” Now my decision influences other people, namely those who produce and broadcast the shows, even if it is to only a minuscule degree. [...] An awful lot of energy has been pointlessly thrown away on the incessant sniping dubbed the Culture War. Back-and-forth shouting matches over what is right and what is wrong have been wasting precious hours of everyone’s time. Accusations of moral relativism fly from the Right and of bigotry and hypocrisy are thrown from the Left and all the while things get worse and nothing is done. But in fact this argument is not so difficult as it is made out to be. Want to find out what’s good and what’s bad? The difference between right and wrong? It starts by thinking. [...] |
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