Krauthhammer On The Difference Between Show And Substance

The downside, which the roundsman, let’s call him Oswald, ignores at his peril, is that this apple polishing does not endear him to his colleagues… The general feeling among the rest of us is that we should have Oswald killed. A physiology major suggests a simple potassium injection that would stop his heart and leave no trace. We agree this is a splendid idea, and entirely just. But it would not solve the problem. Kill him and another Oswald will arise in his place. There’s always an Oswald. There’s always the husband who takes his wife to Paris for Valentine’s Day… We don’t care how much you love her — you don’t do Paris. It’s bad for the team…

There is a distinction between show and substance. It is the ostentation that rankles, not the achievement.. Find a cure for cancer, and you deserve whatever honors and riches come your way. But the check-writer who wears blinding bling to the cancer ball is quite another manner. Americans abroad have long been accused of such blinging arrogance and display. I find the charge generally unfair… True, America as a nation is not very good at humility. But it would be completely unnatural for the dominant military, cultural and technological power on the planet to adopt the demeanor of, say, Liechtenstein.