Archive for April 26th, 2008
The Brown University students who threw pies at Thomas Friedman this week are juvenile not only in deed, but juvenile in thought. Quite frankly, the students couldn’t see their asses if they were in front of their faces.
Anyone who follows Friedman’s columns in the New York Times and reads his books should
know that Friedman is about as pro-planet as humanly possible. Humanly possible because he tirelessly advocates bridging the gap between what is good for the planet with what will still advance civilization and progress peoples around the globe no matter their socio-economic pedigree.
Friedman doesn’t demonize business or globalization because he understands that they are necessary and inevitable.
Friedman caustiously supported the War in Iraq because he (mistakenly) believed the Bush Administration’s stated intentions of bringing democracy to the Middle East - which Friedman agreed was a good and necessary thing for the advancement of humanity and for global security.
But, Friedman spoke out every step of the way as he (and everyone else) watched the Bush Administration do everything in its power to prevent democracy from flourishing in Baghdad.
Friedman’s columns are a literary evolution from optimism to disillusion regarding the White House’s supposed “War on Terror”. Reading his columns, you see Friedman watching the Titanic’s celebrated launching to when the super-liner hit the iceberg. And now we are all watching the ship slowly sink.
Friedman refuses to get caught up in the “coulda/woulda/shoulda” of what plagues humanity and our government and environment - he only searches for solutions. He constantly writes about the silver lining to every cloud.
The irony of this entire episode is that Thomas Friedman is one of the few journalists out there who goes out of his way to be objective and honest with every word he writes. Friedman transcends political lines. He listens to every opinion, every view, every story.
So, my advice to those students at Brown: you picked the wrong guy at which to throw the pie. Do you your homework next time. I wonder if Harvard students would have made the same mistake. I bet even Cornell students would have known better.