There's an article on Slate that talks about a plan to win the hearts and minds of those who despise us in the Middle East, but not through the usual methods (you know, bombs and land mines and secret torture prisons).
Books! Translated books! And although I can't cite a specific post (even on the old blog) I actually had this idea a few years back. See, it occurs to me that what makes America great isn't McDonalds or Playboy or other things that fly directly in the face of most Muslim teachings, but rather its the free exchange of ideas. Translating the works of Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson, of the Constitution and the great speeches of our founding fathers, could be a way to reach those who fear and detest us. After all, it's not our current way of thinking--in fact, I'm fairly sure that most of the drafters of our Constitution would be aghast at the current state of our Union--so it provides some immunity to criticism of the current Administration.
I'm rambling a bit, and I really wanted to put together a more coherent post on this, but I'm a wee bit sick (Just a wee bit! I'm still unbreakable! It's just stress!) so this is what you get.
Tomorrow, if less fuzzyheaded, I'll argue with Sebastian Mallaby via my Internet soapbox.
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