A Liberal Columnist Worth Reading (75%)

Obviously I am a conservative, but I hold to conservative positions because I like to think, reason, learn from history, and rationally approach subjects.

Reading those on the right or the left that do not approach subjects in such a manner usually leaves me with a bit of heartburn. If you are opposed to something you should be able to give a reasonable argument WHY you are opposed to it. Obviously the same is true for something that you favor. Yelling and name calling without facts or reasoning is tedious. That is why there are some radio talk show hosts that I cannot stand to listen to, even though I may agree with their conclusions. I prefer listening to some that I may disagree with every now and then, but they’ve arrived at their conclusions in a reasonable manner.

All that to say, there is one liberal columnist that I enjoy reading. Let me change that, I enjoy reading 75% of her work, even though I may not agree with it. The other 25% is artistic, cultural, and/or moral commentary that I don’t care to hear her views about.

Her name is Camille Paglia.

Politically speaking, she is a thinker. Sometimes she comes to good conclusions (meaning ones I agree with of course) and sometimes she comes to the exact opposite conclusion than I do, but at least she is THINKING about it. Unlike most liberal columnists she doesn’t seek to demonize the opposition and rarely begins her political arguments with the phrase, “I feel”. For instance she is a huge supporter of President Obama, but she has significantly disagreed with some of his positions and speeches.

In any case, her column is always an interesting read. I rarely finish them because the last page or two just doesn’t interest me. Her column today has two pages of very interesting political commentary that give you a great example of what I am talking about. I would strongly advise stopping before the last page.

I would also advise opening another browser window with dictionary.com pulled up. Being a former teacher of a variety of subjects, Ms. Paglia has quite an extensive vocabulary.