The American Dissident: Denis Dutton

A Forum for Vigorous Debate, Cornerstone of Democracy

A FORUM FOR VIGOROUS DEBATE, CORNERSTONE OF DEMOCRACY. Encouraged censorship and self-censorship seem to have become popular in America today. Those who censor others, not just self, prefer the term moderator to censor and moderation to censorship. But that doesn't change what they do. They still act as self-appointed Big Brother protectors of the thin-skinned. Democracy, however, demands a populace with spine. On this blog, and to buck the trend of censorship, comments will not be "moderated." Almost never do the targets of these blog entries dare respond to defend themselves with cogent counter-argumentation. They are too high and mighty or perhaps simply too damn inserted into the herd--academic, literary or whichever.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Denis Dutton

Professor Denis Dutton created “Arts & Letters Daily” on The Chronicle of Higher Education website and died recently. "I think that he has been an incredibly passionate advocate for ideas and truth,” noted his son. Yet Dutton refused to permit the ideas and truth of The American Dissident on that website, despite my requests. Dutton was a little-caesar gatekeeper, keeping the doors closed to ideas and truths that he did not like. Should we mourn his death? Not in the least.

Does the following, on the Arts & Letters Daily website, represent passionate advocate for ideas and truth... or business-as-usual in the established-order literary milieu? "Allen Ginsberg had a serene air about him, like Yoda, but with bigger ears. At least that’s what Tyler Stoddard Smith remembers about him. Oh, and that Ginsberg peed on his shoes..."

The cartoon above is a satire of Dutton's book.

2 comments:

mather said...: Nice caricature...the feminine dancing pose is funny as hell...; January 22, 2011 9:10 AM
G. Tod Slone said...: Copied the character from the Fred Astaire the dude had on his book cover.; January 25, 2011 8:16 AM