tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post7146128417864782051..comments2024-03-28T04:26:30.557-05:00Comments on Boston 1775: Politics and PostingsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-31393644193044951312010-11-15T23:12:33.222-05:002010-11-15T23:12:33.222-05:00Interesting... I was off not paying to the blog fo...Interesting... I was off not paying to the blog for a few days, and things got quite heated. JL, I think you've been very fair, unbiased, and balanced about all the politics you've touched on. I think this post in particular goes a long way to proving my point. There are a lot of heated emotions in politics today (perhaps there always has been), and while I think discerning individuals can find themselves on either side of an issue, it seems to me that those who react with raw emotions and no critical point to well considered opinions of another view only prove themselves as not discerning. (Seemingly proven by the many negative comments on the week before's post by the anonymous.) That's not to say that those that react so emotionally are not capable of being discerning... I'd wager most of your audience is educated and discerning in general. Just sometimes people stubbornly follow an ideal (maybe even a good ideal), but act hotheadded when challenged. I would say, John, just keep on with your excellent work. DerekDerek "A Staunch Whig" Beckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16966961365623936407noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-62349653697220268812010-11-13T22:17:40.632-05:002010-11-13T22:17:40.632-05:00Polls show that Tea Party adherents are more wealt...Polls show that Tea Party adherents are more wealthy, educated, old, and white than the average American, and a historical perspective makes it very hard to accept their worry that they don’t “have a seat at the table.” Not all the seats that group used to command, to be sure, but that’s not the same thing. <br /><br />Tea Party adherents may indeed feel that seeing a letter that says they operate in a looking-glass world “is almost like using certain racial stereotypes.” However, since an unfortunate number of Tea Party adherents used actual racial stereotypes in their signs, emails, and rhetoric (until called on it), I don’t think the movement has a moral high ground or free pass there.<br /><br />I agree that the first factional elections in American history were filled with accusations and invective, as were pre-Revolutionary political disputes. I think there’s only one bit of political behavior we’ve seen since January 2009 that has no recorded precedent: the accusation Rep. “Joe” Wilson shouted at the President from the floor of Congress during a joint session. Congress’s parliamentarian was unable to find a previous example of such behavior.J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-74976806747832987132010-11-12T21:17:55.910-05:002010-11-12T21:17:55.910-05:00I think it's great to link common misconceptio...I think it's great to link common misconceptions of history quoted in modern times, and to admit your politics. I see you in these types of posts as a sort of Nate Silver (of 538 fame) of 1776 era history - exploring and debunking the facts of of all these historical references.<br /><br />I think one thing to be aware of with Tea Party folks is how they've been told by all the conventional "powers that be" on both sides of the spectrum that they are too dumb to have a seat at the table. Comparison to ignorance or madness with a Tea Partier is almost like using certain racial stereotypes. It's beyond the normal fun we all have debating politics and touches a raw nerve.<br /><br />One thing you might link to is a bit reason.tv did taking actual quotes from the elections of 1800 or so and comparing them to today. Something like that might help put some perspective on the whole "you think I'm being too harsh" side of things.<br /><br />(disclosure: personally, I'm more of a Ron Paul or Gary Johnson type than a true Tea Partier, myself.)Vernhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17749548749451100874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-66909537027249332342010-11-12T00:05:17.784-05:002010-11-12T00:05:17.784-05:00I’m not sure what you mean by “judge,” Tom. I try ...I’m not sure what you mean by “judge,” Tom. I try to include all of a historical figure’s statements and actions when assessing him or her, while bearing in mind the social context. Anti-Catholic prejudice was part of most British men’s thinking in the eighteenth century. <br /><br />As for “abstracting things…into the present day,” I think that’s how a lot of traditionalists use history. Thomas Jefferson said this, or Samuel Adams did that, so we should do the same today—even if our situation is nothing Jefferson or Adams never imagined. <br /><br />I find history more useful as a reminder of how many different things people have said and done, how many ways events have worked out. There are parallels everywhere, but parallel lines never run through the same points.J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-88577544794930352682010-11-11T02:17:50.942-05:002010-11-11T02:17:50.942-05:00highlighting how colonial Americans enjoyed burnin...<i>highlighting how colonial Americans enjoyed burning the revered symbols of despised, suspected foreign religions.</i><br /><br />Well, the danger is abstracting things like that into the current day, instead of sticking to the very specific history of the Roman Catholic Church and Britain.<br /><br />I come from the RCC perspective, but I don't judge John Locke and the Brits of the time for their anti-Papism. [Or John Adams for his religious-philosophical disdain for Papism.]Tom Van Dykehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07121072404143877596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-8905537566093680022010-11-10T12:59:40.171-05:002010-11-10T12:59:40.171-05:00I’m actually usually impressed by the quality of c...I’m actually usually impressed by the quality of comments here at <b>Boston 1775</b>, especially when compared to those at less serious websites like <i>The New York Times</i>. (I keep the filter on to kick out spam.)J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-23834607205855709502010-11-10T10:20:51.455-05:002010-11-10T10:20:51.455-05:00Just remember that one of the most dangerous inven...Just remember that one of the most dangerous inventions in recent history is the "comment" button on blogs, news articles, and the like. Irony intended.Rob Velellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14284492589098267999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-21339694151121743712010-11-09T22:19:02.755-05:002010-11-09T22:19:02.755-05:00Thanks for the supportive comments. I especially a...Thanks for the supportive comments. I especially appreciate those from folks who I know don’t share my politics even as they share my fondness for Revolutionary history.<br /><br />But I may eventually need to do a posting on what “revisionism” means to me.J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-11732935654520016232010-11-09T18:16:35.865-05:002010-11-09T18:16:35.865-05:00The politics of the past have an impact on modern ...The politics of the past have an impact on modern political realities, most certainly. Consider how FDR has become either a paragon of the Left or a boogeyman to the Right, for example. Theodore Roosevelt was one of the founding pillars of American imperialism. These events have political repercussions that impact us today.Dave Cesaranohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01454928720043301400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-69084378808169865912010-11-09T16:24:09.309-05:002010-11-09T16:24:09.309-05:00JL, thanks for defending American history against ...JL, thanks for defending American history against revisionist assault. This blog is terrific.Peter Fiskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11047119349197900440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-49443842808001598302010-11-09T12:03:36.618-05:002010-11-09T12:03:36.618-05:00I was surprised to read the comments in last week&...I was surprised to read the comments in last week's post. My first thought was "How does one manage to leave politics out of history?" History is not simply dates of military campaigns.Jenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10391963968436069761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-62093890302607566142010-11-09T11:18:17.159-05:002010-11-09T11:18:17.159-05:00JL, it's your blog, you run it as you see fit....JL, it's your blog, you run it as you see fit. But it is the Internet, and people feel free to say what they want, no matter how and what they say.<br /><br />I like the facts I read here and I am always ready to hear anybody's opinions on them, be they the right, left, anybody. I am a firm believer that every honest historical researcher, no matter what POV they operate from, has something to say, and I am one of your biggest fans. You have certainly opened up my mind to many things I never knew about nor looked at in the same way until I read your work here. <br /><br />Unfortunately, as you say, some on both the right (and the left) feel "their" history has been taken away from them, and distorted to fit modern political and social views and aims. Are they correct? Sometimes. <br /><br />I do understand that some feel that America always seems to be the villain in so many academic studies. (So-called "Revisionist history"?) It's a different view than many people were brought up with, and it's hard to swallow for some. <br /><br />But nobody "owns" history. As Hubert Humphrey once said, you have the right to you own opinions, but not to your own facts. We must follow history where it takes us.<br /><br />I would hope, however, they'd at least be polite about expressing their views. But if not, don't worry, keep doing what you're doing.RFullernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-44105640468498192722010-11-09T10:31:40.952-05:002010-11-09T10:31:40.952-05:00I have a blog, too. I see blogging as personal, a...I have a blog, too. I see blogging as personal, and if folks don't like your posts they can follow someone else. Post what you like, make up your own rules. Your readers will find you! Anyone who doesn't see history as a living, breathing, evolving thing that touches today and yesterday isn't really seeing history.Heather Wilkinson Rojohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17704949156266722016noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-89050166245419691972010-11-09T09:29:29.047-05:002010-11-09T09:29:29.047-05:00You're comments are spot on today, John. Keep ...You're comments are spot on today, John. Keep up the good work. I think you've been very careful in your blog to not express your own views.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com