A Triple Threat: Andrew Sullivan

Let’s talk about Andrew Sullivan. Now, some of you might be thinking, “Oh goody, I love reading about good ol’ Andy Sullivan,” but some of you might be wondering, “Who the f is Andrew Sullivan?” Well, you’re not alone. I had never even heard of him until I stumbled upon his name while I was on the hunt to find a public intellectual. But I’m so glad that I did. Sullivan is a political commentator, journalist, author, editor and gay rights advocate. But it’s Sullivan’s not so personal life that really intrigues me. He’s Catholic, a self-proclaimed conservative and wait for it…get ready…he’s also gay. Talk about a triple threat, right? While writing for The New Republic, Sullivan wrote an essay entitled, “The Politics of Homosexuality,” which was credited by the Nation magazine as the most influential article of the decade on gay rights. Sullivan shares his knowledge and unique perspective with the public through his blog, The Daily Dish. Sullivan asserts himself as a public intellectual by sharing his political views with the public in a manner that is not only informative and easy to understand, but at times, absolutely hilarious.

Photo courtesy Trey Ratcliff

But first things first. What is a public intellectual? A public intellectual’s role is to criticize and engage with the public on issues of social concern, as discussed in Stephen Mack’s essay “The “Decline” of Public Intellectuals?”

He writes:

“And so if public intellectuals have any role to play in a democracy—and they do—it’s simply to keep the pot boiling. The measure of public intellectual work is not whether the people are listening, but whether they’re hearing things worth talking about.”

And Sullivan is definitely keeping the pot boiling, even bubbling, some might say. If Sullivan has something to say, he’ll say it and he’ll say it loud and proud. Sullivan has been a big critic of Sarah Palin since day one. Sullivan exposed Palin’s enormous history of lies as a service to the public. Considering that she might actually run for president in 2012 under the false impression that she could actually do a good job, the public needs to know the type of liar that she is. And trust Sullivan, she’s an odd one.

Sullivan wrote on his blog:

“This is not, as this blog noted in the campaign, the typical political lie, the Clintonian parsing of truth or lying when the truth cannot easily be discovered. It is the statement that it is night when it is clearly, by universal agreement, three o’clock in the afternoon.”

Sullivan essentially is saying that everything that comes out of Palin’s mouth is probably total and utter B.S. And he doesn’t do it just to be mean, but to raise the question of how America could have someone like Palin considering running for president. Someone has to keep politicians in check and Sullivan does this job for us. In doing so, he inspires Americans to make well-informed decisions. In Stephen Mack’s, “The Wicked Paradox Redux: The Cleric as Public Intellectual,” Mack discusses the notion of a “city upon a hill” and how public intellectuals should be defined by moral purpose and do things for the sake of a good cause. And Sullivan does just that.

And what makes his voice all the more credible is the fact that he is conservative. Liberals, by their nature, are destined to be in opposition to conservatives. So when we see a conservative criticizing another conservative, it just has more weight. And not only is Sullivan willing to criticize his fellow conservatives, but he’s also willing to criticize people he once supported.

Sullivan praised President Barack Obama for pushing healthcare reform and for “gradually shaping America” in 2009, but it seems that this year, Sullivan’s not too happy with Mr. Pres about Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.

He writes:

“And so we have the Obama administration now actually battling Republicans to prevent gay servicemembers from serving openly. Ruling here (pdf). How the Obama administration has found itself to the right of even many conservatives on marriage equality and now military service is one of the more spectacular backfires of political expediency in our time.”

Even though Sullivan once supported Obama, he’s certainly not afraid to blow the whistle when he sees a red flag. Sullivan acts as a watchdog for all Americans, using the Dish to inform the public. So for all those who think there’s a decline of public intellectuals, have no fear, Andrew Sullivan is here. (Corny, I know)