![]() ![]() ![]() The kind of people who seek out written arguments are apt to bring to the written word a fund of information and opinions. However, the fact that most Americans do not read newspapers, let alone the commentary columns, is actually emancipating for columnists. Reading a columnist’s commentary on political and cultural subjects is an acquired taste, and a minority one at that: It will be acquired only if it is pleasant, even fun. ![]() Furthermore, Kempton knew that reading newspaper columns is an optional activity, so a writer must make the most of his ration of words. Kempton understood that the swirling, stirring society in which Americans are immersed is constantly clamoring for their attention, plucking at their sleeves and even grabbing them by the lapels with journalism, politics, advertising and other distractions. This 75-word sentence - sinewy, ironic and somewhat demanding - paid a compliment to his readers: He knew they could and would follow a winding syntactical path through a thought so obliquely expressed as to be almost merely intimated. ![]()
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