“Today, most people are acutely aware of our cultural-ideological vacuum; they are anxious, confused, and groping for answers. Are you able to enlighten them? Can you answer their questions? Can you offer them a consistent case? Do you know how to correct their errors? . . .
“If you want to influence a country's intellectual trend, the first step is to bring order to your own ideas and integrate them into a consistent case, to the best of your knowledge and ability…
“When or if your convictions are in your conscious, orderly control, you will be able to communicate them to others.
“If you like condensations…I will say: when you ask ‘What can one do?’—the answer is ‘SPEAK’ (provided you know what you are saying).
- Ayn Rand, from ‘What Can One Do?’ in Philosophy: Who Needs It
It’s advice not just for Master Giles. Yes, with some exceptions the interviewers whom you will encounter will mostly be execrable (a function of what Lindsay Perigo calls “the demise of the art of interviewing”), but if you want to influence this country’s intellectual trend, then SPEAK UP for sure—but, to repeat, make sure when you do that you’ve first brought some order to your ideas.
In other words, make sure you know what you’re talking about.
Otherwise, you require your erstwhile allies to always be checking their own feet for bullet holes.
11 comments:
I recall Perigo cowering in politically correct fear interviewing a trio of Maori activists in the late '80's when they announced were going to Lybia to learn techniques to enable them to fight more effectively for indigenous rights. [Hohepa & Mrs Harawira were two of them]
"make sure you've brought some order to your ideas."
Order in terms of clarity, conciseness, cohesion, and consistency.
Rick has been lacking all of these for years. One hopes that he will gain all of these as he matures but I doubt it somehow.
Can't stand anonymites. Put your bloody name out there you hit-and-run weasels.
An audience of thousands recoiled from smug, self-satisfied, aloof, gormless Rick Giles. His argument was as powerful as wet toilet paper. He is the face of a political party yet he is perfectly repulsive. There won't be anyone anywhere on the planet who could even force themselves to like him. So who is he ever going to convince? Fuck off Rick Giles.
"I recall Perigo cowering in politically correct fear"
Absolutely absurd on its face, to anyone who has known him for more than a day.
Sounds like Rick should study the Course in Political Miracles and change himself first. In the meantime, it would serve to ask everyone we know to read Atlas Shrugged not only because of Rand's accurate prophecy, but because of the solution she offers. See the article "Ayn Rand, 20th Century Prophetess":
http://acimmessages.blogspot.com/
Tell me Bates
How is Rick's catch-cry any different or less moronic than the standard mystics refrain: "to those that believe no explanation is necessary and to those who do not, no explanation is possible?"
Had Rick just kept abreast of current events he could have mentioned the E-mail scandal out of the University of East Anglia and NASA's astonishing admission that its archival data is in a worse state than East Anglia's.
Had he listened to 10 minutes of any Lord Monkton's speeches or read any of the man's essays then he would have been armed with an arsenal of facts to ram down this glib prick's throat.
Instead he surrenders. In effect he is saying "I'm sorry, I don't wish to talk about that."
To which the interviewer is quite entitled to ask why? Only this arsehole decided to ram the phrase back down his throat.
Could I have done any better. No. The difference is that I wouldn't have gone on live TV. I'd have responded in print - a format that affords you the time to craft your responses carefully.
But that the man's performance isn't the thing that sticks in my craw. It's the fact that he's set up a bloody facebook page and is printing T-shirts with this sodding capitulation on it.
You may think that it's a marketing hook. I think it makes what you are attempting to defend look foolish because it is being defended in such a clownish manner by someone who seemingly hasn't read a newspaper since 2008.
Christ, all he had to do to put a doubt in the interviewers mind was look at the weather page of any US Daily and point out that it snowed in TEXAS this year...
Ugh!
I like it
The "it" that we don't need to discuss in this particular instance, in this particular interview is whether global warming is man made or not. You're going to go round and round on that one. He had another point to make. They've taken it out of context and if a few people choose to look a little deeper then it's a win.
Warwick
When was the last time the commenters here did a live TV interview?
It's not easy to be clear, concise and cohesive, and consistent when you're under pressure in a live interview.
Rick seemed prefectly well-prepared to talk about the lightbulbs and Edison hour, and less prepared to talk about climate change. He tripped up, big deal.
Walk a mile in their shoes, etc, etc.
It is why politicians get media training, and it is almost a great textbook example about preparation, and taking charge of such interviews so that you direct it how you want it, and know how to deflect the interviewer. Bearing in mind most interviewers are shallow, but very competent in front of the camera. It requires discipline to manage this, and know when to not say what you might be thinking.
Rick has made an enormous and costly gaffe, but it is now a short lived opportunity given the attention he got.
How many others interviewed get let off far more lightly because the interviewer is sympathetic, runs out of time or too perplexed to know what to say? In this case the interviewer was quick, very unsympathetic and there was plenty of time - hence the evisceration.
Robert,
I was attacking Anonymites (take it you're number 2 - your comment is bang on, he has been nuts for years).
I wasn't defending him - Linda K and I drove him to leave the Libz on Campus and joining Act on Campus. Please, no plaudits.
Wonder if Rick set this up:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Oliver-Driver-is-a-failure/107348205970415?ref=nf
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