I read the TIME magazine cover story on pundit Ann Coulter yesterday. To tell the truth, my only exposure to her previous to that was seeing a few guest appearances she made on Hardball, in which Chris Matthews rightly raked her over the coals for suggesting that liberals are, by definition, unpatriotic.
What I got from the TIME article is that this is a woman who has found a profitable gig. She's a professional provocateur who would rather make people laugh than think. That's fine except that lots of people, whether supporters or detractors, take her schtick more seriously than she apparently does.
She also appears to me to be trapped by the persona she has created and fearful that as she continues to play her part, someone could physically attack her. That must be an awful feeling. Like the moth attracted to and willfully staying in the flame in spite of the risk, Coulter appears to be both lured and repulsed by the fame she has created for herself.
It's sad that we live in a culture that often loves heat more than light and that someone like Coulter is so desperate for prominence that, in spite of her undeniable intellectual gifts and quick wit, she feels compelled to throw in with the purveyors of heat rather than the throwers of light.
Her current prominence probably says something about her and about our country.
In spite of that seemingly negative assessment, I came away from reading the piece liking Coulter...and feeling sorry for her, genuinely sorry for her.
To be truthful, I know little about her, but the half dozen quotes of hers I have read are deeply hateful and cruel. I may pray for her, but I don't feel sorry for her. She's far too bright to misuse her God-given gifts to make a buck by teaching intolerance and injustice.
ReplyDeleteThe sorrow that I feel for her is rooted in my feeling that there's something pathetic about her and her need to be clever, no matter who it may hurt. (Including herself.)
ReplyDeleteYou are right, Deborah, that Coulter has said some truly cruel things.