George Will: A Brain Workout

After a lazy summer of eating processed foods and drinking beer, I decided last night to get back into shape and begun the laborious routine of pushups, weights, kettle bells and sit ups. Needless to say, my body wasn’t used to it- I woke up sore.

Reading a George Will article can have a similar effect on one’s brain. If you haven’t been exercising your brain, it might hurt when you get to the end. In spite of the possible headache, the columns are well worth the effort, like I hope my efforts at the gym are.

Will writes a column twice a week, providing refreshingly logical analysis on political and domestic affairs. He is able to boast of a Princeton doctorate degree in political science, a Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 1977 and an extensive career in journalism ranging from an editor for the National Review, a news analyst for ABC’s This Week, and is a columnist as a member of the Washington Post Writers Group.

From a strong conservative viewpoint, Will is able to consistently convey current political events in an intellectual manner. It provides a unique insight into the controlling entities that govern our lives and encourages readers to also critically contemplate the implications of our leaders in government.

Will’s columns are eloquent and articulate in pointing out the disastrous policies (such as high speed rail) under our current President, while maintaining a capacity to think independently of the Grand Old Party’s rank-and-file members. In the Bush era, Will supported such Republican-opposing policies of withdrawing U.S. soldiers from Afghanistan and a ‘path to citizenship’ for illegal immigrants.

Too few people involved in politics are able to simply look at the facts and make an informed decision based on evidence without an illogical and unbreakable chain to their ideology. George Will is one of those.

Unlike many political columnists on both sides of the aisle, Will does not need to rely purely on heated emotions and repetitive talking points. His most recent column embeds his own opinion, but is intermingled with solid research and factual evidence to support a sensible conclusion.

Will writes in a style similar one would expect in an academia debate. He commonly ties America's past conflicts to today’s circumstances and the world’s aged philosophers to today’s ideology. His opinions are well-grounded, but can necessitate an encyclopedia or history textbook to understand.

Perhaps Will took an extensive course at Princeton in how to use big words that is not common for everyday language, because a dictionary has proven to be a necessary tool to conquer an understanding of his articles.

Unfortunately, his columns don’t have spark notes.

            At some later point today, I will drag myself back to the gym. Despite the hard work and pain, the benefits outweigh the cost.

At some later point this week, I will be reading Will’s next article. Despite the tedious work of looking up definitions, historical meanings and obscure philosophers that are referenced in his columns, the reward of insightful knowledge and intellectual challenge to look meaningfully in today’s political realm is well worth the slight headache.