Is activism just "ritual"?

I'm curious what you think about this article on activism as "ritual worship" at Winds of Change. While it does focus on the problems of activism in the left, the author mentions that this phenomenon happens on the right as well (especially the "religious right"). In keeping w/ our discussion on ethics, as well as a general idea of argument as meant to A) persuade others and B) think about accomplishing something for the greater good, not just ourselves (as individuals or groups), I'd like to see what you think about this.

Is political activism (on the left & right) today mainly a ritual performance? Is there a sort of "branding" of political activism? (On that, think about all the Che t-shirts, or pink ribbons, or pro-life pins, or whatever.)

Also, though Katzman's argument centers on the current left-wing activism, he does make the case that this applies to the right wing, too. Can you think of examples of right wing activism that looks like what Katzman is describing?

If you're not familiar w/ the Winds of Change blog, it's a self-described "liberal" blog (but it mostly means liberal in the "classical" tradition) that tends to be critical (in the good sense) of both the right and the left on various issues. It's also written by numerous people (this post just happened to be by Joe Katzman).

Read Katzman's post before leaving a comment. You can also leave a comment directly at Winds of Change, if you'd like.

The Rice Confirmation

After a delay caused by Congressional Democrats, Condoleezza Rice will be confirmed as Secretary of State this week. What do you think?

Week's discussion

I'd like you to comment on the following:

How can critical thinking help us understand opposing points of view? How is this important or useful to us? Think about issues about which you have strong opinions. Do you have difficulty considering or understand opposing viewpoints? Why? What are the ways in which critical thinking can help us in such situations?

Class cancellation

I apologize for the late notice, but I'm cancelling class today. I've been fighting a flu for a while, and it's just about got the best of me. Please continue w/ the reading, we'll pick up everything on Monday for sure.

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UPDATE: I called the Political Science office around 10:30am, but apparently they didn't get to post a note on the door. I apologize for that. As for the quiz, I'll hold it off until Wednesday, of course, since we didn't get to discuss it. But it'll cover the seven steps of critical thinking (you should memorize them) and three extra short answer questions.

7 steps to critical thinking

Along w/ Chapter 2, we'll be discussing "Seven Steps of Critical Thinking" in class on Wednesday. These are:

1. Determine the THESIS statement. What is the argument?
   
   
2. What ASSUMPTIONS underlie the argument?
   
   
3. Are KEY TERMS defined?
   
   
4. What kind of SUPPORT (evidence) is presented?
   
   
5. What are the SOURCES for support/evidence. Are they reliable/biased?
   
   
6. How valid is the argument's LOGIC? Do the conclusions follow from evidence? Are there any logical fallacies?
   
   
7. What are the CONSEQUENCES of the argument's conclusion?

Some reading material

The following's a list of ten publications (online) devoted primarily to news analysis. These are not "newspapers" claiming to only give "facts" in stories; these are clearly engaged in critical analysis (w/ various political biases). I'd encourage you to read some of them, even those you might routinely disagree w/. A mark of a good critical thinker is being able to discuss opposing points of view.

Atlantic Monthly
Harper's
Mother Jones
The Nation
The National Review
The New Republic
Reason
Salon.com
Utne Reader
The Weekly Standard

I also promised a list of bloggers I recommend. Here's a (very) short list:

InstaPundit
BuzzMachine

Belgravia Dispatch
The Daily Dish
Dynamist
Matthew Yglesias
Oliver Willis
Talking Points Memo
Quaker Ranter
Wonkette

I listed InstaPundit & BuzzMachine separately, since they're mostly engaged in "linking" than "thinking" posts (especially Instapundit). But they generate massive volumes of traffic — and generally link to other interesting blogs.

My very first Post

Hello all....
So, I do not know what all I should say on this "BLOG". If it wasnt made for school purposes, I'm sure I would go on about other fun and crazy stuff... But, I think that this Political Science Critical Thinking class is going to be sooo much fun! I like politics, I like logic (and have a lot of it as well), like to argue.... Thats why I am going to be a lawyer. Anyway.. I cannot wait to talk about Fahrenheit 9/11, because Michael Moore is a moron! Is anyone even reading this thing?

Welcome

Welcome to the Spring 2005 semester of Critical Thinking About Politics. This is our class website & blog. I'll post updates here regularly. You'll also have an opportunity to post here as well, and to respond to others' posts/comments. I'll explain more in class.