Today Commentar's blog Contention reminds me silence is golden

One of the many lessons I learned living in London is that silence is golden. In fact I certainly haven't learned this lesson enough. Intellectually, I know that silence is far superior to the arguments I make. Especially those that are made on the Internet that can not be unwritten, last forever, and are accessible to virtually everybody in the world.

But sometimes Keeping one's mouth closed can be the hardest thing to do. often when one reads an editorial or commentary often bring forth in the reader strong emotions. These emotions can feel welts on the soul. The temptation to scratch by writing a response can overwhelming.

One of the sites that I read often read is Commentary. The contentions blog is one of my nearly daily reads. I truly believe that this is a crucial time in Israel's history. I have become fascinated with the responses that neoconservatives have toward the current Israeli crisis. I have been amazed how little it is discussed amongst neoconservatives and how few ideas they seem to have for Israel's continued viability.

I have also become very interested in the new ideas that are being discussed in they conservative community. I have also been amazed that of the paucity of ideas. Conservatives still don't seem to have any plan for dealing with the generation long stagnation in wages for the working and lower middle class workers, or for the reduced access to health insurance an pensions.

I would think this would be a time to come up with conservative solutions to these crisis However the tendency seems to still be to deny that a problem exist or to say that nothing can be done

So when I see articles that have these flaws I become extremely frustrated. But I am not a disinterested reader. I believe that liberal ideas are the ones that are most likely to be effective in facing these policies. To advance my goals I realize that I often must refrain from joining the arguments.

So I have a developed some principals for when to keep my fingers from typing.

1. Don't attack your opponent when he or she is falling. Rarely does it benefit you to try make your opponent fall harder or faster. Often times you simply get pulled down yourself. Further when you are trying to influence a disinterested observer, it is far more persuasive to make it clear that your opponent is falling from the weakness of his or her own position rather than by your efforts. Finally by allowing your opponent to fall unaided, you can use that time to prepare to kick them when they are down.
2. Avoid attacking your opponent when their position is superior to your own. If you leave the matter uncontested you leave the disinterested observer with a modicum of doubt that most likely would be removed if you showed your cards.
3. Avoid attacking your opponent when you are clearly in a superior position. Nothing displays confidence in your ideas more than resiting the urge to answer the poor ideas of your opponent.
4. Avoid attacking your opponent if your opponent is a superior communicator, or thinker. Martin Luther actually lost the important debates he had regarding church reform, because the debater for the conservative side was superior. Express your ideas when you have a chance for victory. Don't allow your own inadequacies to taint your strong positions.

These are of course merely a few reasons to remain silent. I will keep listing them. In a debate the eloquence of silence is rarely equaled.