David Brooks Is Brilliant (and Prescient)
Randy Jones | April 23, 2009
New York Times op-ed columnist David Brooks knows of what he speaks. Last month he wrote an elegiac piece called “The Commercial Republic.” In it, he posits that historically America has unabashedly pursued success and the byproduct of hard work and risk-taking, wealth—that, in fact, it is part of our national genetic code.
He points out that sadly we are in what he calls a noncommercial moment, when the media are full of downbeat stories exploring the downfall of the American economy, with more than a little schadenfreude for the wealthy figures who have been brought low. But, he says, “the cultural DNA of the past 400 years will not be erased. The pendulum will swing hard. The gospel of success will recapture the imagination.” I couldn’t agree more.
