When I first read the Dallas News’ Sunday Points Section’s “10 Ideas on the Way Out” it struck me as a massive waste of newsprint. That even one of the so-called “world’s greatest thinkers” would waste time identifying the British monarchy as something worthy of thought clearly indicated there was no great thinking going on. Then I realized the article was originally printed in Foreign Policy magazine (not to be confused with Foreign Affairs magazine).

Having never really delved deeply into the title I had assumed Foreign Policy to be a serious effort by serious people about seriously boring matters. Apparently it is a silly magazine in which pseudo-intellectuals give their version of “Ten Best Hamburgers.” This is the sort of stuff serious magazines run when their circulation is failing and they are flailing about for spark. It makes me wonder why Points would pick it up. Is this too an indication of failing circulation and a grasp for spark? No, the Dallas News can do better than this. Shoot, the Dallas Observer could have done better than this.

Great minds!? Great Thinker Pete Singer is of an ilk with Osama Ben Laden in his outlook on life except that Singer proposes to kill defenseless infants with birth defects while Ben Laden at least seeks to kill innocent adults. Great Thinker Harvey Cox thinks something called “hierarchic religion” is dead. Awhile back he thought God was dead. Apparently those rumors were greatly exaggerated. Great Thinker Jacques Attali thinks monogamy is dead. That’s original. Hugh Heffner was saying that half a century ago.

It seems that every so often a publication feels the need to print pabulum and give credentialed goofballs a forum to reassure themselves the arms of the First Amendment are wrapped around the inane and so-50-years-ago tripe. It also gives Great Thinker wannabes an opportunity to posture as martyrs when their ideas are scoffed at or ignored. But does a great paper like the Dallas Morning News have to be a party to playing the 10 Greatest Hotdogs of All Time game?

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