I'm starting to get back into thinking about politics after a hiatus of sorts (between the declaration of the war in Iraq and a week or two ago -- the reason for the slow down should be a subject of a future post)

I'm very grateful for The New York Review of Books, which remains my favorite periodical. Two fine articles I can recommend: Which Way to Mecca? by Clifford Geertz and Stanley Hoffman's America Goes Backward
There is a lot to say that I cannot even begin to write out right now but I was really impressed with the fact that Geertz in preparing the article on Islam had read 50 books on the subject -- reflecting the obvious ferment around the topic. "50 books! And just to start to get a feel for how things relate...." Reading about the process and seeing how shallow my own understanding of Islam is (not surprising given how little I read or know in the concrete about Isalm) made me almost stop reading altogether on this topic.

Hoffman captures a lot of my own feelings and concerns about the current state of things. But I want to test out my thoughts in this area. I've been reading many blogs, looking for political viewpoints that are not my own but which are well-articulated and open to change when shown to be wrong. I need to do more processing before I jump in looking for dialog. Finding the right place and right people seems very important -- otherwise, one just gets embroiled in so much heat with so little light.

Oh yes, Elizabeth Drew's The Neocons in Power also caught my attention. Margaret Atwood's review was probably the most fun to read (being a fine novelist gives her a leg-up on writing essays, I suppose) -- but it's not free for the reading, alas.