In a TV documentary to be broadcast on Channel 4 tomorrow (2nd July) Tony Blair claims many civil liberty campaigners are “loopy loo” in defending the rights of Muslims in Britain. This is going to piss off all those who chose this name as their online identity as well as being a prime example of dumbing down of political language!
I can’t help thinking that aiming for a bit of intellectual high ground would be a better gesture in distinguishing the mindful from the mindless. The way we use language in talking about beliefs is an important aspect of the response to the latest terrorist action in London and Glasgow. This quote from Don Delillo’s novel ‘Great Jones Street’ seems apt:
“When man started thinking abstractly he advanced from killing for food to killing for words and ideas. Maybe with mindless violence we’re going into a new cycle. No more abstract thought and no more concrete thoughts. Violence for nothing”.
