Intellectual Trends

One of my really smart friends I used to work with up in San Fran told me the indentification of a growing intellectual xenophobia. Best embodied by the neoconservative brain's behind the Bush administration, this movement has little interest in cooperating with the rest of the world. This article indentifies the described.

At the time, she told me about a trend in the judicial system whereby America is increasingly unsympathetic to the judicial decisions and precendents decided in other countries. Our attitude: who cares? They're corrupt and wrong anyway. All we need is the Constitution and we'll be fine. This attitude permeates into business and certainly into international affairs, the finest example being the Iraq War. Many intellectual bloggers share a hint of this attitude, including my favorite, Glenn Reynolds.

On the other side, is the intellectuaul trend to despise everything America does and equate everything with Vietnam. Here's an article that calls them out. An descriptive section:

Now you would think that this bunch of cutthroats, whose favorite tactics are kidnapping or threatening unarmed civilians, would be widely reviled. Nope. They are the underdogs, and have been labeled in the media as "insurgents." Since many countries, and their media, opposed the removal of Saddam Hussein from power, the "insurgents" get favorable press. Very favorable press.

It's the movement to hold up American policy and America action to the fire and be completely, blindly sympathetic to everyone else, even murderous thugs.