“Isolationist”: The New Way to Say “I Hate You” (Part One)

By John Harris on Sep 16, 2013

The “mind your own business” approach to foreign policy seems to evoke instant contempt and derision in elite Republican circles: yet it makes common sense, and sneering “isolationist” at its proponents is a mere bullying tactic.

A word’s change in meaning often exposes the heart of an entire Zeitgeist. “Passionate” used to signify behavior which is impulsive—opposed to reason and heedless of reason’s hand on the reins. For about twenty-five hundred years, the word was so understood. Ancient philosophers regarded passion as the origin of what Christians would call sinful acts: one knows the wrongness of violence but strikes in anger, one knows the wrongness of theft but steals in envy, etc. Now, and indeed for at least three decades, to be passionate is considered good, or even mandatory for certain promotions and honors. A candidate must be passionate about his cause, an architect must be passionate about building homes, a Nike salesman must be passionate about shoes, and so forth. We apparently view lack of animation—of entertainment value—as the unpardonable sin. Or perhaps we intend this denigration of cool, objective reasoning to be proof of sincerity. If a person is worked up, you can trust him; if he calculates his moves before making them, he’s a shyster. We seem to have forgotten that human beings often get swept up—quite sincerely—in endeavors that must lead straight to the destruction of others, or of themselves……To Read More….