Joe Strummer Book

Former friend of Joe Strummer, Chris Salewicz, wrote what is the most comprehensive biography of the former Clash front man. The 600-plus pages seems to affirm the over twenty-year friendship between Strummer and Salewicz, with information and quotes only known by the closest of friends.

Approaching the post-101'ers point in his life's time line, I have learned far more about one of rock music's most famous writers and singers than in any previous documentary source.

One of the most notable events that affected Strummer was the suicide of his older brother, David. Salewicz regards this tragedy as ultimately affecting the personality of John Mellor, who would later adopt the name of Joe Strummer in the waining life of his first band, the 101'ers.

I initially feel that, at the point where I currently stand with the book, the narrative reads a bit too chaotic, leaving the reader overwhelmed with names and events that have much less to do with Strummer's life. This creates unnecessary hindrances to the book's continuity and stronger narrative passages. As I near the point where the beginnings of the Clash are pages away, I hope that the biographical recounting becomes more organized and, thusly engrossing.

"In Doubt We Trust" Article

Being ridden with a sore throat and a sense of "being out of it" has delayed my commentary on an interesting article in Sunday's Outlook section of the Washington Post.

Essentially, Joel Achenbach argues that an important human response is missing within our country and our government: Doubt. Achenbach comments on how even a brief appearance of uncertainty is construed as weakness. The author argues that, perhaps, doubt is vital in the pursuit of knowledge:

We need to rehabilitate doubt and uncertainty and recognize them as tools for cutting through mushy notions and wishful thinking. We need to stop elevating decisiveness over intelligence in the list of political virtues. We need leaders who think more like scientists, who know that knowledge is provisional, that today's orthodoxy might be invalidated tomorrow. We need to learn how to think again.

Achenbach writes that new books by Al Gore ("The Assault on Reason") and Christopher Hitchens ("God is Not Great") attack absolute knowledge as inferior to genuine longing for the unknown.

Democratic Presidential candidates will, as in the past, struggle with conveying to Americans that they are not "soft" on terrorism. This is largely in part to the perceived (and not always untrue) notion that Democrats do not show tactful resoluteness to terrorism. Republicans have much less to worry about as they are generally viewed by the public to be much stronger. Former Mayor Rudolf Giuliani has been particularly adamant about solidifying his association with September 11, 2001 and with that of being a strong counter-terrorism candidate.

One potential drawback to the Republican dominance of integrity and strength will be that of President Bush criticism. In part elected because of his "down to Earth" qualities, many now feel that the President is wandering in the clouds of absolute idealism. Some could be inclined to associate the administration's "resolve" as foolhardy and dangerous (many do now). This association with the Republican party may give Democrats a small, but important, advantage in the 2008 elections.

It was refreshing to hear a rare plea for the importance of doubt and uncertainty. However, like the author, I do not think the majority of Americans will quickly learn to embrace the humble brilliance of thoughtful doubt.

Being sick...

...is not fun.