As I near 80 my distaste for writers like Wilson, who wear the mantle of righteousness with such surety, reaches incendiary levels. As a senior at school we had a remarkable English teacher, who read us William Faulkner's acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize in literature in 1950. Remembering this was at a time when the spectre of nuclear conflict was very real, Faulkner makes a plea for young writers to remember and write about ". . . the eternal verities . . . love and honor and pity and pride and compassion and sacrifice" He ends with this, which is where Wilson comes to mind: "When the last ding-dong of doom has clanged and faded from the last worthless rock hanging tideless in the last red and dying evening, that even then there will still be one more sound: that of his puny inexhaustible voice, still talking."
Point by point an excellent piece David. I have to say that I had noted the irony of the placement of your and Simon Wilson's columns in the Listener. I can imagine you'd quite like him to fade from your consciousness, but for now let's say you are "keeping an eye on him" for which I am most appreciative.
Clinical dissection of Wilson, David. Unfortunately, you won’t dent his confidence and resolve one iota. Like all post-modernists, he puts absolutely no store on reason, evidence or logic. The civilisational battle is not between old fashioned Left & Right. It’s between Reason & Unreason. Wilson is firmly ensconced in the latter camp
An excellent article David. It's ironic that before Wilson went to work for the Herald he was an editor for a major NZ publisher. One would have thought that someone who worked in journalism and publishing would be a strong supporter of free speech.
Wilson's problem is one which infects many on the Progressive or Left side of the spectrum. Freedom of speech is all very well as long as I agree with it. And we can't be too robust lest we upset people and cause them discomfort. It is very much a relativistic argument. The irony is that freedom of expression used to be the province of the Left.
Wilson is a major reason i cancelled my subscription to the Herald. In those days his opinions were touted as unbiased balanced journalism. He was the most obvious example that the profession of Journalism has morphed into one where many are merely " influencers" using their platform to promote " their truth" and ignoring or distorting any facts or opinions that undermine their views. David your article exposes most of these techniques used in Wilson's article. Unfortunately the Editor at the Herald didn't subject Wilson's work to the same scrutiny.
You know my views on Simon Wilson and how frustrating he is to read as there never is any real substance to what he has to say. If you are looking to better inform yourself on a topic, dont bother, read almost anyone else on the topic.
As I near 80 my distaste for writers like Wilson, who wear the mantle of righteousness with such surety, reaches incendiary levels. As a senior at school we had a remarkable English teacher, who read us William Faulkner's acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize in literature in 1950. Remembering this was at a time when the spectre of nuclear conflict was very real, Faulkner makes a plea for young writers to remember and write about ". . . the eternal verities . . . love and honor and pity and pride and compassion and sacrifice" He ends with this, which is where Wilson comes to mind: "When the last ding-dong of doom has clanged and faded from the last worthless rock hanging tideless in the last red and dying evening, that even then there will still be one more sound: that of his puny inexhaustible voice, still talking."
Point by point an excellent piece David. I have to say that I had noted the irony of the placement of your and Simon Wilson's columns in the Listener. I can imagine you'd quite like him to fade from your consciousness, but for now let's say you are "keeping an eye on him" for which I am most appreciative.
No problem keeping an eye on him. At least his witterings aren't weekly in the Listener but I won't be subscribing (free or paid) to his Substack
Brilliant dissection. Highly worthy of retention for future occasions.
Clinical dissection of Wilson, David. Unfortunately, you won’t dent his confidence and resolve one iota. Like all post-modernists, he puts absolutely no store on reason, evidence or logic. The civilisational battle is not between old fashioned Left & Right. It’s between Reason & Unreason. Wilson is firmly ensconced in the latter camp
An excellent article David. It's ironic that before Wilson went to work for the Herald he was an editor for a major NZ publisher. One would have thought that someone who worked in journalism and publishing would be a strong supporter of free speech.
Thanks Jeff
Wilson's problem is one which infects many on the Progressive or Left side of the spectrum. Freedom of speech is all very well as long as I agree with it. And we can't be too robust lest we upset people and cause them discomfort. It is very much a relativistic argument. The irony is that freedom of expression used to be the province of the Left.
Well said. We can smell the bullshit on Wilson’s breath from any distance.
Wilson is a major reason i cancelled my subscription to the Herald. In those days his opinions were touted as unbiased balanced journalism. He was the most obvious example that the profession of Journalism has morphed into one where many are merely " influencers" using their platform to promote " their truth" and ignoring or distorting any facts or opinions that undermine their views. David your article exposes most of these techniques used in Wilson's article. Unfortunately the Editor at the Herald didn't subject Wilson's work to the same scrutiny.
You know my views on Simon Wilson and how frustrating he is to read as there never is any real substance to what he has to say. If you are looking to better inform yourself on a topic, dont bother, read almost anyone else on the topic.