Brian Stewart's empty 'truth'

Opinion columnist Brian Stewart wrote on October 2 ("Postmodernism vs. principle") that "objective truth" is what the world needs now, more than anything. How easy taking that position becomes when this "truth" is on your own side. Not to mention when it is, by definition, infallible.\nUnfortunately, he forgot to mention what exactly the "truth" was. Not a word of elaboration. He went on and on with pseudo-eloquence about how Christopher Hitchins and Orwell agree with him but offered no specifics there, either -- only that "it" was profound, right, and necessary.\nSo, for those who might be wondering what in Christ-our-only-lord's name he's talking about in his vaccuous column, I thought I'd try to guess:\nIt's the same truth that thinker Leo Strauss ingrained in his students heads, many of which are now our heads of state. And, by proxy, it's the same truth that makes Bush's ilk believe that they can deliver democracy to the Middle East at the point of a rifle. In fact, it's the very same truth that has fueled East vs. West controversies for centuries, religious and otherwise.\nThe all-defining trait? That those who believe in "it" refuse to believe that they can be questioned, and consider any evaluation of their own actions nonsense. (After all, they're speaking "The Truth.") How else do you explain the fact that Stewart and his noble masters appear to believe that the current world situation popped up in just the last few decades, as a result of "uncivilized" cultures' jealousy of our televisions?\nI hope this clears some things up for Stewart's readers, though I'm sure he'll explain it all to us in due time.\nOr perhaps no one's told him yet.