Message & Signal Watch

My vigil continues:

In agreeing to interviews in advance of the joint trip to Saudi Arabia, the officials were nevertheless clearly intent on sending a pointed signal to a top American ally. They expressed deep frustration that more private American appeals to the Saudis had failed to produce a change in course. -- NYT

No, ladies and gentlemen. The officials were clearly intent on actually expressing deep frustration that more private American appeals to the Saudis had failed to produce a change in course. Do we need to consult the astrological charts to determine whether the Saudi government reads New York Times interviews with top US government officials venting over Saudi government policy? What 'signal' exactly do I send by slapping you in the face? That I felt like slapping it?

We must cease this constant retreat into meta-narrative. We must insist upon discussing the world where actual actions take place. We must resist the half-conscious urge to make feelings and feints, interpretations and intimations, more important than the behaviors that call them into 'being.' We must stop reading entrails and issuing oracles. In the deathless words of Joe Biden, THIS KABUKI DANCE MUST END!

Comments

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James, it sounds like you're feeling a strong sense of frustration about these messages and the...

Aaaaah! Not in the face!

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Everything matters! That's a perfect phrase for the reality I tried to get at: "mattering" (alias meaning) somehow winning out even when things seem random. Or when they grow out of mistakes (or out of some small, distant move or misstep). I just want to emphasize the good work on this blog, has excellent views and a clear vision of what you are looking for