Dueling Politicos Go to the Dogs

Conservative Jonah Goldberg and Robert Wright (blogging for the vacationing Andrew Sullivan) come from very different places on the political spectrum. Wright (the author of The Evolution of God) is an old-school intellectual, comfortable with abstract arguments about nearly anything (his website bloggingheads.tv is also one of the more entertaining political sites anywhere). Goldberg (the son of legendary conservative flamethrower Luciane Goldberg and the author of Liberal Fascism) is one of the more vocal conservative voices on the Internet, and always in the middle of ad hominem battles with liberal bloggers. But despite their superficial differences, the subject of our canine friends fascinates them both. Goldberg is an inveterate fan of dogs, in particular his longtime companion Cosmo. He views dogs as exemplars of all that is good and true. Conversely, Wright is fascinated by dogs as a social phenomena -- are dogs parasites, or elements of our social fabric?

We understand where both of them are coming from. Here at Happy Dog Land, we continue to be amazed at the complex relationship we have with our furry friends. In dogs we project many of our best (and worst) features -- from heroism to cruelty. The evolution of dogs has paralleled the evolution of our civilization, and it is difficult to imagine ourselves today without the contribution of dogs. Dogs are a metaphor for nearly any kind of human interaction -- and they lay on our laps when we need a friend. They are an endlessly flexible lens through which we see ourselves, and they chew up our furniture. Dogs are a subject that never grows old, because in discussing them we are discussing ourselves -- and in looking at dogs we learn to better understand and appreciate each other.