Monday, August 29, 2005

What speed of destruction?

Today the new issue of Preservation magazine arrived. A feature article showcases the urban decay that is Detroit. I was struck by the comparison of the devastation of slow decay compared to the instantaneous effects of hurricane Katrina on the cities in its path. One is a culmination of bad policy. The other is chance.
Both are overwhelming.

Saturday, August 20, 2005

Selective sympathy

Reading the continuing coverage of Mother Sheehan and her now-absent vigil I am struck by the pick-and-choose nature of the left's sympathy. Noemie Emery has written a good piece about it this morning. But something else is at work as well. Why, if the Sheehan voice must be heeded, were we not to hear the anguished pleas of Teri Schiavo's family that her life be spared?