Riposte from Dr. Morpheus

"The world is full of smokestacks jeering at chimneys." La Rochefoucauld.

The hope of a writer is that someone will read ones work and take it seriously enough to criticize it. Only someone who is blown over by a puff of wind or who sticks his fingers in his ears when challenged is displeased by the critic. If one avoids the challenge, the opportunity for growth is lost. Therefore, thank you for investing time and thought, your most precious resources, in my little essay.

As you recognize, the piece does not hinge upon whether Ramesses won one battle or 45. While it’s tangentially interesting for you to supply a summary of the historical consensus, a brief statement along with a link for those who want the full story would suffice to make your point. You are also aware asserting a few phrases of mine are exaggerated doesn’t address my thesis. Moreover, while I don’t claim to be an historian, the accounts I read report the battle of Kadesh (or Qadesh) was a standoff. Not one source I could find stated that Ramesses “had his ass handed to him.” Therefore, it appears that your are at least as guilty of hyperbole as I am. And since you didn’t comment on them, I presume you accept the accuracy of the other references to history. But again, we are talking about an irrelevant detail in that I borrowed the metaphor from a poem about a statue.

You also got the obvious argument I was making in the piece that an old political culture where voters are essentially manipulated is being replaced by a culture where a significant body of voters will be intelligent, motivated and informed. The internet provides a powerful mechanism both for doing research, raising funds, and communicating back and forth between politicians and their constituents. The idea that Obama voters are just the manipulated masses sitting at a computer appeals to those who have no first hand experience in the Obama network. Perhaps this identifies you as part of the cynical culture that I predict is going the way of the pharaohs. Moreover, you accuse me of being self-congratulatory and grandiose in a self-congratulatory and grandiose manner. Having spent considerable time reading comments on popular political blogs I have been struck by the wishful thinking of those who hope that Obama’s follower really are drinking some form of spiked Kool-aid and that the Senator is nothing more than a balloon made of flannel. His successes leave them perplexed, exasperated, and reduced to shouting insults (or, less frequently, writing snarky critical reviews). You appear to be an intelligent and educated person so I hope I’m wrong about you being out of touch with the truth. After all, a mind is a terrible thing to waste.