And those who know me understand that while it is refreshing to meet people with no opinions, I am not that fellow. I like to argue. I don’t take the argument itself personally — and I am often amazed at so much outsized commentary that assumes otherwise — but rather I delight in pursuing a good, ranging argument. It’s why I value a writer’s room so much. It’s why I used to love a healthy newsroom, which I have described as a magical place where everyone disagrees with everything all of the time. Arguments make the work better; when people stop arguing, or at least arguing intelligently, absent the usual half-assed, rhetorical cheating, the work invariably suffers. So, for me, any dialectic is a temptation.
I’ve been reading David Simon since I first started watching Homicide: Life on the Street back when it was on NBC. Two books and several TV series later, Simon remains one of my favorite writers and commentators on culture, news, the inner city, politics, you name it…
His TV shows, Homicide, The Wire, Treme, The Corner, Generation Kill, are smart social commentary that’s compassionate, true, intelligent, ambiguous (like so much of life), and not preachy. If you haven’t watched them, you should.
What I love about Simon is summarized in the previous paragraph from his blog, The Audacity of Despair.
I like a good fight. Nothing personal, just a good, hard, thoughtful fight that makes you think differently and challenges what you believe. This is also why I hate and refuse to watch any television news shows. They’re mostly didactic schlock with no interest in anything productive. Best line in the paragraph?
It’s why I used to love a healthy newsroom, which I have described as a magical place where everyone disagrees with everything all of the time. Arguments make the work better; when people stop arguing, or at least arguing intelligently, absent the usual half-assed, rhetorical cheating, the work invariably suffers.
You betcha.
Now, go read…