Thomas Friedman Wants You to Be More Radical!

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Friedman, from today’s column:

I’ve been calling them “Generation Q” — the Quiet Americans, in the best sense of that term, quietly pursuing their idealism, at home and abroad. But Generation Q may be too quiet, too online, for its own good, and for the country’s own good.

He’s right to call for activism and political engagement, but it’s pretty ripe that a war supporter as influential as Thomas Friedman is criticizing young people for being the “Quiet Generation.” The Iraq war didn’t happen because too few students were marching in the streets. It happened, in large part, because trusted liberal public intellectuals like (gasp!) Thomas Friedman supported it. They legitimized the Bush administration’s story and worked as cheerleaders for intervention. Just because it happened behind the TimesSelect paywall or on Charlie Rose doesn’t mean we don’t remember. The saddest part is that Friedman’s still such an influential figure that many people in his generation will pick up on this convenient, self-absolving narrative: “It’s all the kids’ fault. They didn’t protest enough.” Don’t be surprised if you hear your parents spouting this to you two weeks from now. But that’s a pretty big glass house to be throwing stones from, sir.

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In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

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