A cold day in Hell

In the spirit of even-handed fair-mindedness for which this blog is renowned, I wish to draw attention to that rara avis, a Daily Mail column by Melanie Phillips with which I find myself in almost total agreement.

I think it's unfortunate that when she concludes "It is the pathological reaction of a crude, vulgar, de-educated and debauched nation, which has so badly lost its own self-respect and sense of itself that it viciously lashes out from the anonymous safety of its collective sofa in order to feel better about itself " she clearly fails to recognise the role that she and her fellow-columnists in the gutter press have played in that dumbing-down and debauching, and in encouraging the thoughtless lashing-out at scapegoats.

Still, a stopped clock is right twice a day, and it seems that even Mad Mel occasionally takes a pot at a worthwhile target.