Jonah Goldberg, of the right-wing National Review Online, is a rip-roaring stand up comedian. Recently, he referred to France as a bunch of “cheese eating surrender monkeys”. This, of course, is just another salvo in the ubiquitous and increasingly tiresome tirade against France and other European partners. Cheese eating surrender monkeys? Now, surely Mr. Goldberg could not have thought of that all by himself. It’s much to ‘populist’ a thing for his imagination (one would guess anyway). And how right I am. It was actually a Bart Simpson quote, and a funny one at that when put into Simpsonian context. I guess it’s funny when Mr. Goldberg says it as well, in a depreciating sort of way, as in; “Man, did you hear that guy Jonah Goldberg use the phrase ‘cheese eating surrender monkeys’? Boy, that guy is an idiot…ha ha ha!”
Ok, ok, ad hominem attacks demean us all, I suppose. However, whenever I see Goldberg channeling the spirit of the late William Randolph Hearst, well, I get this funny little feeling in the pit of my stomach. It feels something like a black mixture of revulsion and spasmodic laughter, kind of like looking at pictures on rotten.com.
I put up a reference yesterday about high-paid, “limousine liberals” spouting off about the war. Though this can be annoying at times, at least people like Martin Sheen and Bono put their money (and body) where their mouth is. Agree with their politics or not, they are actually out there fighting for their causes. Can Mr. Goldberg say the same? There comes a time when “waving the bloody shirt” just doesn’t cut it anymore. Privilege is privilege, and as far as I know, Mr. Goldberg has no problem using his to avoid “serving his country”.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t believe anyone has an obligation to serve the state for any reason (a topic for another column, I think). But, if Mr. Goldberg is going to advocate War! War! War!; if he has the courage to label others cowards or even better, surrender monkeys, then he should step up and put himself in harms way. Perhaps then I will be able to respect him as a person instead of thinking of him as just a right-wing Barbra Streisand.
