Beware of Those Who Complain
Plus updates from The Political Prism and the Oscars Best Picture
The New Yorker recently turned 100 years old. It’s by far my favorite magazine. Not because it’s cool or intellectual or because I live in New York City and am therefore required to like it. The New Yorker makes me think. It’s a challenge simply going from cover to cover before the next edition arrives (as my wife can attest given the piles of magazines around our house).
In the latest edition, one quote from the founder of The New Yorker really resonated with me. Harold Wallace Ross had a clever trick for writers who balked at being edited. He told them: “The worse the writer is, the more argument; that is the rule.”
Pretty neat trick if you ask me. I’m sure it silenced or at least lowered the volume of some of Ross’s biggest complainers. And let me tell you — us writers can be an opinionated, surly bunch.
Game theory aside, Ross’s quote is also true. It applies across life, not only to writers. Although I can tell you from personal experience as an editor of The Political Prism on Medium that the writers who bark and complain the loudest are generally the worst writers. In fact, I’ve had a few encounters recently that made me reassess who I let in the doors of the publication.
For the remainder of the essay, click this free link to our website.
Highlights from The Political Prism - February 2025
Below are some of the best stories we’ve published at The Political Prism (a Medium publication) so far this month. We’ll be doing a more in-depth summary on Medium closer to month end, so be sure to subscribe to the publication on Medium too!
What Does DEI Mean and Why Are People So Mad About It? by Maria Cassano
“DEI initiatives exist to even the playing field in a culture that assumes white guys are inherently the most capable and valuable. By casting a wider net to include all kinds of people, hiring managers can find the most qualified candidates — not the least, as Trump claims.”
How Stupidity Became Popular by Peter Sassi
“My dad continually hammered into me that “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.” He did not believe that good intentions made up for much, including idiocy.”
Trump’s Plan for Gaza by Isaac Saul
“As a non-practicing American Jew, I’ve always been conflicted in how I think about Israel. I declined to go on my Birthright trip, I believe legitimate criticism of Israel is too often dismissed as antisemitism, and I have always felt uncomfortable about Israel’s status as both a democracy and a country with an official religion. At the same time, I personally place more blame on Hamas for the continuance of violence in the region, and I don’t believe the Jews who have settled in Israel — many of whom were relocated there after the Holocaust by a decree not of their own making — are perpetrators of colonialism.”
“I think about Winston Smith a lot these days. Not the Winston who rebelled, but the Winston who worked at the Ministry of Truth, rewriting history to fit the Party’s narrative.”
For more great stories on politics and society, check out The Political Prism.
Has anyone seen the Oscar Best Picture nominees?
I tried watching Emilia Perez on Netflix, and I’ll admit, I couldn’t finish it. I still have about an hour remaining on the movie and I’m not sure if I’ll be returning to watch it.
Previously it was a frontrunner for Best Picture at the upcoming Oscars (March 2nd), but then all of the controversy came out involving racist and incendiary comments from the show’s star, Karla Sofia Gascón, the first openly transgender woman to be nominated for best performance by an actress in a leading role.
Leave it to social media sleuths to unearth her deleted posts about Muslims, George Floyd, and diversity at the Oscars. It’s a bit ironic that the first transgender female to receive such resounding critical acclaim is the one making such ignorant and hateful statements.
None of that affected my inability to finish the film, however. It’s a Spanish-language musical that - to me at least - randomly breaks into song at disjointed and unnatural moments. Whereas classic musicals of the past — like The Sound of Music — had very smooth musical transitions that had great emotional timing.
Perhaps I’m just not a fan of musicals. Although the Academy isn’t much of one either. The last musical to win Best Picture was Chicago in 2002, with a few nominations, including Les Misérables (2012), La La Land (2016), and West Side Story (2021), failing to win the top prize.
My guess? The Brutalist with Adrien Brody. But with an insane run time of 3 hours and 35 minutes, most average viewers will likely be deterred from committing to such an epic. Note: I’ve still yet to see the film, but I’ve heard great things (for those who can endure an almost 4-hour movie!).
Here are the remaining nominations. Let me know in the comments which one you think will be victorious!
ANORA
THE BRUTALIST
A COMPLETE UNKNOWN
CONCLAVE
DUNE: PART TWO
EMILIA PÉREZ
I'M STILL HERE
NICKEL BOYS
THE SUBSTANCE
WICKED
Have a good weekend.
I agree that sometimes the people who scream the loudest are the ones we really shouldn’t be listening to, but unfortunately, they’re often the ones with the biggest platforms.
I'm not a movie buff, but I loved A Complete Unknown! And Neela's piece on 1984 was prescient in the sneaky ways the powerful influence us to go along willingly.