Richard Larsen

You, Sir, Are an Idiot: Newspaper Columns Richard Larsen

You, Sir, Are an Idiot compiles journalist Richard Edward Larsen's short columns on America's recent big events. Larsen's columns arise from the belief that reasonable debate must be restored to understand and to resolve the issues polarizing too much of public debate in the United States. No topic escapes Larsen's observations: On Iraq war justification: "No, this is not a failure of the intelligence agencies, it is a failure of this administration to use the intelligence intelligently." On war images: "We should never avert our eyes from the violence we visit upon ourselves in the name of hatred or politics or religion." On self-improvement: "I'm not sure when the tradition of new year's resolutions began, but I wouldn't be surprised if it started when a female Neanderthal looked at her mate one New Year's Eve and said, 'You need to quit slouching.'" On the future: "Peace is not merely a process, it is a commitment to the future of mankind."Larsen's columns urge us to question what we are told, to look beyond the superficial and to exercise always our basic right to look someone in the eye and say, "You, sir, are an idiot."