Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Said Shirazi, "Two Ideas of Freedom"

There is a long liberal tradition of changing terms rather than changing policies. This is something like changing your diaper rather than learning to stop soiling yourself. Liberal rhetoric is partly a way of avoiding reality and partly of offering empty phrases as a substitute for change. In its more academic form it also serves the purpose of excluding ordinary people from the discussion, paralyzing them with confusion or intimidating them into silence.