Eric Alterman, a columnist for The Nation, has some interesting things to say about the "New Know-Nothingism". Based on a historical model, these folks attack anyone, Paul Krugman, for instance, who dares to try to understand the rationale behind anti-Americanism or anti-Semitism. They attack Krugman and others for not simply condemning these people and supporting the Bush foreign policy. Here's a link to Alterman's article:
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml%3Fi=20031117&s=alterman
His first paragraph reads: "Conservatives, and some not so conservatives, are testing out a new thesis in their effort to shut out ideas that make them uncomfortable: Any attempt to analyze the origins of a distasteful phenomenon is tantamount to endorsing it. Whether the problem is global terrorism or anti-Semitism, the message is the same. 'It's bad. It must be condemned. That's all we need to know.'"
It can be argued that the current US foreign policy is based on the Know Nothing principle. Comments?
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