August 28, 2006

Letter to the Editor

So the one letter of mine that the Globe published was a late-night toss-off in which I very delicately suggest that Michael Ignatieff is a whore to power. They don't seem to like the ones with actual facts in them.

What's fun about this, is that we get a first-hand look at what it's like to be edited by the good people at the Globe. The original letter follows. The bits in red were removed by the editor.

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In his fascinating, epic monograph on "Iggy," Michael Valpy illustrates the candidate's tendency to make major shifts in his thinking, gaining him a great deal of attention. Not explicitly said, but nonetheless evident from Valpy's account, is that in each case, Ignatieff's turns have been in favour of those in power: Thatcher during the coal strike, then Bush with the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and now the ruthless bombing of Lebanon. In the interceding years, surely there have been occasions for controversial, nuanced intellectual stands that turn away from those with money and power. On such occasions, Mr. Ignatieff has been absent. We should endeavor to find out why this is so--that is, if we find the obvious answer to be insufficient.

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In all, I'm a bit embarassed that this letter made it in, though it was the only one one of two they printed that was even vaguely critical of Iggy. Let this be a lesson to all who care to listen: don't write letters to the editor at 3am that you don't want to be seen by thousands of people. Obvious, I know, but it's easy to get used to letters not being printed.