Bush awards Sharansky Medal of Freedom for life of “courage and conviction” [gag] (Eric Draper)I just noticed that the inimitable, indomitable Natan Sharansky, protege of our beloved president, will be speaking this summer at Seattle’s Town Hall, which undoubtedly means to my readers “coming soon to a theater near you.” And if any of you can figure out what the gobbledy-gook below actually means, you’ll win a prize of a week’s stay at the glorious Shalem Center or the American Enterprise Institute, whichever you prefer. I really like the phrase “valueless cosmopolitanism.” It has a nice ring to it, don’t you think? Maybe it’s something like that other Godless phenomenon “secular humanism?”
Wednesday, July 16 at 7:30 pm
Natan Sharansky: ‘Defending Identity’
Who is better prepared to confront challenges and defend principles in a volatile modern world? Those with strong national, religious, ethnic, or tribal identities who accept democracy; or democrats who renounce identity as a kind of divisive prejudice? The author of the bestselling The Case for Democracy, Natan Sharansky builds on his personal experience as a dissident, arguing that valueless cosmopolitanism, even in democracies, is dangerous. In Defending Identity: Its Indispensable Role in Protecting Democracy, he argues that it is better to have hostile identities framed by democracy than democrats indifferent to identity. Presented by the Town Hall Center for Civic Life, with University Book Store.
Do you think Natan is willing to ‘defend’ Palestinian identity or democracy?
@William Burns:
That’s a good point. Tony Karon will get a chuckle out of that & maybe write a post about it too.
“[I]t is better to have hostile identities framed by democracy…”
Just what the world needs – more hostility. Count me out.
Why not just go all the way and call it “rootless cosmopolitanism”?