[LINK] Compassion from The New Republic

[rfmcdonald]

This journal of public opinion can be hit-and-miss, like any journal, but right now it has two cracking articles up now.

• Joseph Braude's "Trivial Pursuit" examines how the Bush Administration has managed to completely misunderstand how non-Americans are reacting to Hurricane Katrina, with a special emphasis on the Middle East. Despite the region's famed anti-Americanism, not only are liberals broadly sympathetic to American suffering but the speedy reaction offered by Arab leaders has opened up a broader debate on humanitarianism and empathy for the region's own suffering.


• E. J. Graff's "Doubt Less" examines how public opinion in California and Massachusetts has been gradually shifting in favour of same-sex marriage. Why? Simple empathy, it turns out, is key. Meanness doesn't pay.