And Dr. M replies again

"127.--The true way to be deceived is to think one-self more knowing than others." Francois Duc De La Rochefoucauld, Prince de Marsillac.

Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims

Translated from the Editions of 1678 and 1827 with introduction, notes, and some account of the author and his times.

J. W. Willis Bund, M.A. LL.B and J. Hain Friswell

Simpson Low, Son, and Marston, 188, Fleet Street.
1871.

http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext05/8roch10.txt

Now, BevD, it's nice to get so much attention; and I am enjoying this conversation; but, do you realize what how pedantic you are being? As the Duc de la Rochefoucauld warns us, a little humility goes a long way. We could probably be friends if you had a more open mind and a willingess to participate in a civil dialog instead of rudely delivering a lecture. I don't expect everyone to agree with me; but, you happen to have completely misread my position. I would suggest you ask more questions and don't make so many assumptions about what others are saying. I could be mistaken, but you remind me of the older folks who think anyone posting a comment favorable toward Sen. Obama has to be 22 years old and a wide-eyed idealist. I would guess you are annoyed by the kids who don't understand how everything really works and are threatening the entitlement Sen. Clinton has to the Democratic nomination. I'm 55 years old but those kids are the future of the DP, if it has one. I saw your comments on the young man reciting his street poem about Obama; and, you really should have restrained yourself instead of spitting on a very sharp black kid whose cynicism about the system was cracked open by the example of Sen. Obama's audacious hope. I apologize for repeating myself but the point of the essay is that power is shifting from wealthy power brokers to coalitions of motivated voters who use the internet to communicate and coordinate their activities. This is the main reason Sen. Obama has been able to defeat the overwhelming favorite for the nomination. Yes, he's charismatic but without the motivated network, he would have flopped and dropped a long time ago. Am I correct that this type of network is the wave of the future and that it will result in a shift of power to communities of savvy individuals? Neither one of us knows because it's a prediction. I did not say a thing about the quality of information one gets through the internet. If I were so naive, would I be quoting La Rochefoucauld? Yes, I read blogs but not to be informed of "the truth." I read them to get a sense of how people are perceiving and feeling about the events of the day, especially the Democratic Party presidential race. "The truth" is an unknowable construct that we can only approach by determining how well the predictions based upon our hypotheses work. If you are seeing reality more clearly than I am, your predictions will be better than mine and you will achieve your goals more efficiently than I will. It's like having a more accurate map of the terrain. I believe that one should never presume one has the complete picture (a point made in one of my favorite wisdom tales, the blind men and the elephant). I hope this clarifies my position for you. Now, if you want to lecture me further, I demand to see your credentials. You have developed a sadly inaccurate picture of who I am.