I’ve been arguing that the horseshoe metaphor is too benign as well. For one thing, a horseshoe is strong. The extremism we’re seeing is bound to break the system itself, and this is why I favor an image less robust than a metal horseshoe.
I like your vase and need to think more about it; glass, as a more fragile material makes sense.
I’ve been thinking of a rubber band that gets stretched so far from the middle, it snaps in half as the two ends (the two extreme ends) get launched into the same place—that of obliteration.
I think of the Aristotelian mean, how the middle is defined by the outposts, but in my metaphor, the extreme outposts are so overextended, they no longer determine the “center” but break the whole thing.
The horseshoe emphasizes the “same-place-ness” that both sides end up in—extremism & fascism—and while this is true, I think it’s too benign an image b/c it doesn’t account for the inevitable break of the whole damn thing itself.
It makes me nuts when people with zero training in military strategy act like they know better than well trained folks on the ground.
I’ve been arguing that the horseshoe metaphor is too benign as well. For one thing, a horseshoe is strong. The extremism we’re seeing is bound to break the system itself, and this is why I favor an image less robust than a metal horseshoe.
I like your vase and need to think more about it; glass, as a more fragile material makes sense.
I’ve been thinking of a rubber band that gets stretched so far from the middle, it snaps in half as the two ends (the two extreme ends) get launched into the same place—that of obliteration.
I think of the Aristotelian mean, how the middle is defined by the outposts, but in my metaphor, the extreme outposts are so overextended, they no longer determine the “center” but break the whole thing.
The horseshoe emphasizes the “same-place-ness” that both sides end up in—extremism & fascism—and while this is true, I think it’s too benign an image b/c it doesn’t account for the inevitable break of the whole damn thing itself.
Tom Friedman does not exist. That crap was written by AI
Shabbat Shalom! 🕯️🕯️🇮🇱✡️💙🎶