Fritz Swanson writes: When I see these guys fighting, it hurts me inside. Funny, smart older brother tears wise but disconnected uncle a new asshole at family event. This is a recipe for sadness.



John Stewart is my brand of leftism at this exact instant. Chris Matthews is the leftism I would have had if I had lived through Vietnam and Watergate. He's a surly working class lefty, with a mixed up family that pulled in equal measure toward Kennedy and Reagan over the course of his life. He worked on the Hill for Tip O'Neil, but he was a cop too; he went out with the Peace Corps, but he had buddies "in country" fightin the 'Nam. Television Journalist Chris Matthews served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Swaziland in the 1960's.

Fritz Swanson writes: When I see these guys fighting, it hurts me inside. Funny, smart older brother tears wise but disconnected uncle a new asshole at family event. This is a recipe for sadness.

A Recipe for Sadness: Why the John Stewart/ Chris Matthews Fight Matters for the Obama/Clinton Nomination Fight, and Why It Might Matter for Your Soul

[Excerpt]

I watch John Stewart and I watch Chris Matthews, and I have to confess up front that I love them both. I love John Stewart like I would love a really smart older brother. He makes sense of the world in a way that is personally powerful for me. He speaks directly about ideas that I am only just forming as he says them, and so he always feels like my sharper, clearer other self. But I love Chris Matthews the way I love an aging uncle. He is out of step with the ebb and flow of the precise moment we live in, but he would have been me, and I would have been him, if we had shared each other's lives.

John Stewart is my brand of leftism at this exact instant. Chris Matthews is the leftism I would have had if I had lived through Vietnam and Watergate. He's a surly working class lefty, with a mixed up family that pulled in equal measure toward Kennedy and Reagan over the course of his life. He worked on the Hill for Tip O'Neil, but he was a cop too; he went out with the Peace Corps, but he had buddies "in country" fightin the 'Nam.

So, when I see these guys fighting, it hurts me inside. Funny, smart older brother tears wise but disconnected uncle a new asshole at family event. This is a recipe for sadness.

They are both right, and they are both wrong.

And incidentally, they perfectly describe the current Democratic nomination fight.

Links to Related Topics (Tags):

Headlines: November, 2007; RPCV Chris Matthews (Swaziland); Figures; Peace Corps Swaziland; Directory of Swaziland RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Swaziland RPCVs; Journalism; Television

When this story was posted in November 2007, this was on the front page of PCOL:




Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers

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Dodd vows to filibuster Surveillance Act Senator Chris Dodd vowed to filibuster the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that would grant retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that helped this administration violate the civil liberties of Americans. "It is time to say: No more. No more trampling on our Constitution. No more excusing those who violate the rule of law. These are fundamental, basic, eternal principles. They have been around, some of them, for as long as the Magna Carta. They are enduring. What they are not is temporary. And what we do not do in a time where our country is at risk is abandon them."

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October 14, 2007: This Month's Top Stories UN Secretary-General Visits Peace Corps 12 Oct David Robeck adopted four orphans in Russia 14 Oct Juan Donald Dontugan remorseful for killing Julia Campbell 12 Oct PCV John Roberts dies in accident in Vanuatu 12 Oct Richardson proposes PCVs earn back their college tuition 10 Oct Bruce Cumings writes: North Korea: neutral instead of nuclear 9 Oct Volunteerism is dropping significantly 9 Oct Josh Swiller recalls being deaf in the Peace Corps 8 Oct Bob Bates gained near-legendary status as mountaineer 7 Oct New search for Peace Corps Volunteer Walter Poirier III 6 Oct James Rupert writes: Attacks by Taliban mounting 6 Oct Peace Corps Returns to Ethiopia 4 Oct Chris Matthews and “the book interview from hell” 3 Oct Knox College starts Peace Corps preparatory program 22 Sep Julia Chang Bloch exhibits African American Art Treasures 19 Sep Garamendi says students should push for change 17 Sep NPCA raises $1 million in Microlending program 13 Sep Dodd says Iraq Has Left Us More Vulnerable 12 Sep David Whitman's photo exhibition opens Sep 9 in Key Biscayne 8 Sep Dodd-Feinstein increases Peace Corps funding by $10 million 7 Sep Kevin Denny writes: Malawi Village uplifts AIDS orphans 3 Sep

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What is the greatest threat facing us now? "People will say it's terrorism. But are there any terrorists in the world who can change the American way of life or our political system? No. Can they knock down a building? Yes. Can they kill somebody? Yes. But can they change us? No. Only we can change ourselves. So what is the great threat we are facing? I would approach this differently, in almost Marshall-like terms. What are the great opportunities out there - ones that we can take advantage of?" Read more.

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Senator Dodd's Peace Corps Hearings Read PCOL's executive summary of Senator Chris Dodd's hearings on July 25 on the Peace Corps Volunteer Empowerment Act and why Peace Corps Director Ron Tschetter does not believe the bill would contribute to an improved Peace Corps while four other RPCV witnesses do. Highlights of the hearings included Dodd's questioning of Tschetter on political meetings at Peace Corps Headquarters and the Inspector General's testimony on the re-opening of the Walter Poirier III investigation.

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Paul Theroux: Peace Corps Writer Paul Theroux began by writing about the life he knew in Africa as a Peace Corps Volunteer. His first first three novels are set in Africa and two of his later novels recast his Peace Corps tour as fiction. Read about how Theroux involved himself with rebel politicians, was expelled from Malawi, and how the Peace Corps tried to ruin him financially in John Coyne's analysis and appreciation of one of the greatest American writers of his generation (who also happens to be an RPCV).

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Ambassador revokes clearance for PC Director A post made on PCOL from volunteers in Tanzania alleges that Ambassador Retzer has acted improperly in revoking the country clearance of Country Director Christine Djondo. A statement from Peace Corps' Press Office says that the Peace Corps strongly disagrees with the ambassador’s decision. On June 8 the White House announced that Retzer is being replaced as Ambassador. Latest: Senator Dodd has placed a hold on Mark Green's nomination to be Ambassador to Tanzania.

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Suspect confesses in murder of PCV Search parties in the Philippines discovered the body of Peace Corps Volunteer Julia Campbell near Barangay Batad, Banaue town on April 17. Director Tschetter expressed his sorrow at learning the news. “Julia was a proud member of the Peace Corps family, and she contributed greatly to the lives of Filipino citizens in Donsol, Sorsogon, where she served,” he said. Latest: Suspect Juan Duntugan admits to killing Campbell. Leave your thoughts and condolences .

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He served with honor One year ago, Staff Sgt. Robert J. Paul (RPCV Kenya) carried on an ongoing dialog on this website on the military and the peace corps and his role as a member of a Civil Affairs Team in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have just received a report that Sargeant Paul has been killed by a car bomb in Kabul. Words cannot express our feeling of loss for this tremendous injury to the entire RPCV community. Most of us didn't know him personally but we knew him from his words. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. He was one of ours and he served with honor.

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