Monday, June 22, 2009

Neda’s Martyrdom and the Pitfalls of Obama’s Chronic Pragmatism

I’ve praised President Obama’s discipline and focus, his calm demeanor. He is a thinker, reflective. He considers all angles of a problem. And he is chronically pragmatic. There’s nothing wrong with pragmatism - it’s a precious commodity in a tumultuous world - but like anything else, too much of it can be a bad thing. Especially at such an inflection point in history, with climate change threatening our existence, violence and human rights abuses and hunger and disease rampant, weapons of mass carnage in the hands of despots and terrorists, and the global economy teetering on the brink of disaster while the super-rich get super-richer. Yes, pragmatism is admirable, but give me some idealism too, give me some deep-seated moral conviction and the powerful, ground-shaking words to express it.

Topics: obama, iran, neda, human-rights