Common Ground

Before I head off for a late summer vacation, I'd like to point out two notable op-eds appearing in today's NYT. One is by Nicholas Kristof, who, after mentioning opposition to the Islamic center in lower Manhattan, goes on to discuss "earlier waves of intolerance in American history," not out of hatred or bigotry, but fear. The second piece well worth reading is by renowned historian Taylor Branch, who reviews last week's highly publicized Glen Beck rally in Washington D.C. In the run-up to the event, there was much criticism of Beck from liberal quarters, who resented that he was wrapping himself in the mantle of the civil rights movement. But Beck's speech that day, as Branch interprets it, didn't play out the way Beck's critics imagined it would. Rather, Branch points out some interesting parallels between the famed march on Washington in 1963 and Beck's commemorative rally, including this ...