FROM OUR INBOX
apologize to people with physical disabilities. But I hope people with political disabilities will take my point. Those who have ears blocked with prejudice, eyes rendered sightless by ideological hallucinations, and mouths full of crap can cripple democracy. I love you, Man! (From an old beer commercial)... You probably have heard this many times but I discovered you when a college friend turned me on to the National Lampoon in the fall of 1970. I almost fell off my chair with laughter at discovering it. The no-holds-barred character of the humor and, of course, the complete lack of polite taste really rocked my world! At the time, I thought that you and the gang at the NL were probably far-Left radicals, sort of an SDS humor mag. Pleasant surprise when I ran across some of your books years later to find that you were more of a libertarian and your politics coincided with mine! You still got it! I love reading your articles in American Consequences as your sense of humor has not faded. Happy New Year to all from a soon to be 69-year-old fan! (Holy Mother!) Thanks P.J. – Eric P.J. O’Rourke response: Eric, thank you for the figurative Bud Light! National Lampoon’s staff was all over the place politically. Henry Beard was an old-fashioned liberal. Sean Kelly and Tony Hendra considered themselves left- wing. John Hughes and I were more or less conservatives – “Pants-Down Republicans” as we put it. I don’t remember Doug Kenny ever mentioning politics. And Michael
Re: Love us? Hate us? We Want to Hear From You! P.J. O’Rourke and the American Consequences team, as somebody of the Left, but with an interest and respect for others’ ideas, I’ve been a reader of P.J. for decades, and American Consequences for these past few turbulent months. I don’t always agree with Trish, or Buck, or even P.J. (though you can regularly make me think, and laugh), but it is heartening to see your solid stance on the nonsense of this past week. I’ve counted myself lucky to be a citizen of Very Great Britain Indeed all my life. I’m proud today, once more, to call myself a friend of the United States and to look to the NewWorld, with all its power and might, to join the old in rescue of our shared liberty. With love and affection, – Chris P.J. O’Rourke response: Thank you, Chris. In free and democratic countries such as yours and ours, the real contest is never between Left and Right. (“Left” and “Right” being over-simplifications of the wide range of political views we citizens hold.) The real contest is between those who are open to argument – whose minds can be changed if facts and logic warrant – and those who are lost to argument because their minds are closed by fanatical conviction and willful ignorance. The real contest is always between people who can hear, speak, and see and people who are deaf, dumb, and blind. I realize that that is a rude metaphor, and I
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January 2021
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