Why Francis Fukuyama is one of the best

Francis Fukuyama proves his mettle yet again with two brilliantly argued posts on his blog.

How Scared Should We Be Really?

Keeping Up with the Chavezes?

There is so much good to say about these two articles. But I am tired and I must get home and doing so will have to wait until I have the brain power and the energy to do so.

In the meantime, enjoy brilliance at work.

Having a substantive debate on Iraq

Charles Krauthammer has an excellent article in today's Washington Post that deserves a serious look.

The War and the Words

The essence of Charles' argument is absolutely true, which is that the substantive debate about what to do in Iraq is being swamped by a trite debate and how to refer to the war and how to frame positions without really debating them.

Being a conservative who has, last I read, opposed a surge, Charles' should have some credibility in trying to refocus us on a substantive debate. He doesn't have an ax to grind in a conventional political way because he doesn't seem to support the efforts of his fellow conservatives, even as he supports their aims. Paradoxically, I am someone who has been a liberal most of his life (though I'm much more of a moderate independent in my old age) who supports a surge. But what I appreciate most about Charles' column is his desire to hear and have engaged a much more substantive debate about alternative proposals rather than so much of the political positioning without a more engaged and thoughtful debate.

As Charles' ends that piece:

"The problem with this battle over words is that it is entirely irrelevant to what is happening in Iraq. There will be real troops on real missions regardless of what label they are given. The country is engaged in a serious debate about exactly what strategy to pursue to either prosecute the war or withdraw in an orderly fashion. The Senate might consider putting such a debate on its agenda."

Iraq above all other policy priorities, right now, would seem to warrant to gravity of a more substantive policy debate and discussion. It has not been afforded that debate because the players in power are not accustomed to engaging thoughtful discussions that consider at length alternative arguments and proposals. Democrats and Republicans are accustomed to playing politics to win, not to engage one another to develop better policies that account for the deepest and most serious concerns of those impacted by them. They are used to having opinions, not rigorously engaging and sorting through better arguments to arrive at sounder policies.

That sort of debate has been usually saved for the eggheads in universities and academic circles rather than serious power players with elections to win and bases to play to.

And as Charles argues in this piece, that is a reality that needs to change.

On growing up

I have grades to get in and tons of work to do tonight.

But I had an experience today that really humbled me.

I had two girls, this morning, who were so out of control during a computerized assessment that I was supervising. The girls both decided to talk incessantly, after repeated reminders that they needed to be quiet during the test, and I asked both, at different times, to leave the room and to sit in desks outside of the room since they couldn't keep quiet. Both argued loudly with me about their fates amidst the test. Both refused to go where I told them to go. One of them went when I threatened to call security. One of them left the room when even my colleague and the official classroom teacher on the scene asked her to stop. Both ended up in the office on referrals from me and both continued to argue their cases loudly, disrupt the office, and each time they were asked what happened from someone new ,they would respond to the effect of, "Nothing."

It was an insane morning. And it was humbling for me because it led me to reflect on the million moments in my own childhood when I was completely convinced that I was right, that I was smarter than the adults I was dealing with, that I was not in the wrong, when I felt persecuted, and when I was otherwise being a similarly spoiled, arrogant little brat.

And I was humbled.

It occurred to me after this incident how manipulative we all can be, myself right at the top of that list. And how important it is for parents and teachers and adults to back one another up in calling children's attention and the attention of too many less mature adults to their out of control behavior. I've had many times when I've refused that reality check. And I realized, today, that I must have looked and seemed very much like these two out of control girls making scenes and playing dumb when it was time to take responsibility.

Raising children, I'm learning from teaching, is a lot of hard work.

And I am terribly humbled by how difficult it must have been for my parents and teachers and professors and friends to deal with me when I've acted arrogant, spoiled, out of control, and otherwise like a remarkable ass.

Growing up, I think, has a lot to do with recognizing what a total ass you must have been as a kid as you see children at ages that you can remember being and hope you were never that snotty and immature.

Today I realized what a hard job all those parents and teachers and adults had in raising me and the kids I grew up with.

My hat goes off to them, today. And I can forgive but also be mindful of what a total ass I was at various times in my youth and young and not-so-young adulthood.

Here's to growing up, despite how shitty I and all kids start out.

Love,
Ben