Richard Cohen in the Washington Cocoon

I wrote two thoughtful and rational e-mails to Richard Cohen of The Washington Post in February and March of 2003; his support of the war in Iraq was puzzling me and he touched on some topics I knew a thing or two about. About half the time I write such letters to reporters or pundits, I get an answer back but not from Mr. Cohen. I decided to leave him alone because I could not make heads or tails out of his position and I concentrated my efforts elsewhere.

Since then, Cohen has somewhat changed his position but I'm still in favor of just leaving him alone in the cocoon he shares with so many other Washington reporters and pundits, but apparently his recent article criticizing Colbert's brilliant satiric performance has set off a small firestorm and he's alarmed by the anger directed at him. Again, I would normally just ignore the fuss, but I found myself admiring William River Pitt's essay on the subject; here's an excerpt from Truthout as Mr. Pitt explains the anger to Mr. Cohen:

You cannot fathom anger arising from this?

I wrote a book called "War on Iraq" in the summer of 2002. That book stated there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, no al Qaeda connections in Iraq, no connections to 9/11 in Iraq, and thus no reason for the invasion of Iraq. It is now almost the summer of 2006. That book was right then, and is right now, and the millions of Americans who agree with the facts contained therein have shared these four years with me in a state of disbelief, shock, sorrow and yes, anger. None of this had to happen, and the fact that it was allowed to happen inspires the kind of vitriol you got a taste of via email.

If you want anger, you should try reading some of the emails I get on a weekly basis. The mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, wives, husbands and children of American soldiers killed in Iraq write to me asking why it happened, what can be done, how this is possible. They write to me because I wrote that book, because somehow they think I have an answer to that bottomless question.

I am sorry you were so wounded by the messages you received. I wish that hadn't happened; I am personally from the more-flies-with-honey school of journalistic correspondence. But in the end, truth be told, I don't feel too badly for you. It isn't an excess of outrage that plagues this nation today, but an abject lack of it. Instead of castigating those who take an interest, who have gotten justifiably furious over all that has happened, I suggest you take a moment within yourself and ask why you don't share their feelings.

I share the anger, but I've talked before about having to let the anger drain for twenty minutes before sitting down to write. For many of us, there's too much at stake to do otherwise. But I understand. Believe me, I understand.