(BTW, I don't know about whether modern Hebrew is authentically "semitic" or not, but I do know that almost no human languages have ever been "pure" anything, since humans constantly borrow from each others' languages. The very language we are writing in is a prime example; should we renounce it and go back to Old English, which wasn't "pure" either? In any case, I think that a traditional left position on language is that everyone should be allowed to speak whatever language or languages they want.)
On Dec 28, 2004, at 12:34 AM, John Bizwas wrote:
> Why don't you anwser the question I asked you in the previous post?
I suppose you are referring to this:
> Which puts zio-liberals like Pollack and Friedman exactly where on
> your spectrum of defined positions? Aspects like this are important to
> consider if we are to make any sense at all of articles like the
> Guardian one that Marvin Gandall just posted. Afterall, is a person
> really a 'liberal secularist' if that person supports pro-war policies
> in favour of zionist Israel?
> I think that are plenty of clearly defined positions outside the
> bookends you are talking about--besides how many times have I seen the
> illusory 'left' berated on this list for lack of clarity?
I didn't answer those questions because I couldn't understand quite what you were asking. But since I have the opportunity, I can ask. By "zio-liberals," do you mean people who are not committed to eliminating Israel? I suppose they are in the middle of the spectrum. As for "liberal secularists," I don't see why they can't support the present policies of the government of Israel (which by the way I of course do not agree with). Where is the contradiction?
Sure, there are lots of clearly defined positions in the "mainstream," but talking about the "mainstream" as though it were a single position is very obscurantist. Of course, once we get down to the hard work of distinguishing the positions of individual persons and individual groups, most highly-charged political folks quickly loose interest. They prefer stereotypes.
I don't know what you are referring to by "the illusory 'left' berated on this list for lack of clarity." You'd have to quote some specific examples.
Jon Johanning // jjohanning at igc.org __________________________ A sympathetic Scot summed it all up very neatly in the remark, 'You should make a point of trying every experience once, excepting incest and folk-dancing.' -- Sir Arnold Bax