I think Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) is one of the smartest men in politics today. My friend Roger reacts to this as if I was claiming the hottest woman ever on TV was Moms Mabley…or something of the sort. He hates Frank and pronounces the "D-Mass" as "dumbass" every time he mentions his name, which is great political rhetoric if you happen to be in third grade.
Recently at American University in Washington, DC, Representative Frank received an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree and gave a stirring commencement address. I can't embed it here but if you'd like to watch it, there's a video on this page. The whole thing, including the introduction of him, runs about 19 minutes. I especially liked his comments on idealism versus pragmatism…
I am a great believer in free speech. I would let people say all kinds of things about each other. I would let them show pictures of each other doing various things, as long as we are talking about adults. If I could ban speech I would do a couple of things: First of all, I would make it illegal to use metaphors in public policy debates…that's a part. I would also make it a felony to say "Oh, you can do that because you are pragmatic but I am idealistic." Understand that the more deeply you hold your ideals, the more you are morally obligated to be pragmatic. Because ideals that are not implemented do nothing but make you feel morally superior. They never fed a hungry kid, they never cleaned up a polluted river, they never built a road that got people anywhere. So yeah, you should be pragmatic after you are idealistic. Pragmatism in the service of idealism is what you need. Idealism without pragmatism is just a way to flatter your ego.
There are other thoughts in his speech that I liked. Watch it and hear some of them.