Mr. Dionne,

In your Columbus Day 2012 talk at UVa’s Miller Center, you said that you would like to engage that Jim Woods guy in an argument related to your new book. I am that Jim Woods, and I accept your invitation. Let’s debate…seriously; I will make all sorts of aspersions upon your cowardice if you welch.

Our debating would be good for promoting your book. You publicly debate a regular guy…you standing up for the collective against the lone individual who dissents. Definitely a made for C-SPAN moment as you daintily pirouette circles around me aided by your erudition. Even better for you, I will proudly embrace the moniker of selfish; remember in 2008, when Obama criticized those who would make a virtue out of selfishness…c’est moi. E.J. Dionne vs. the Selfish Citizen; imagine the marketing possibilities.

As you would be the beneficiary of book sales, it would be fair that you secured the venue. It should be in D.C. as that is local to the both of us. As I will have a posse, we would need to make sure that there is sufficient public seating for them. If you and your publisher are stuck for a venue, I might be able to secure something in D.C. or at Fairfax; no sense in allowing that to be an excuse for us not to engage in a public debate of opposed ideas.

BTW, you strawmanned me in your response to my question; I am neither a Tea Partier, conservative, Republican, nor Libertarian…instead I am an independent voter; perhaps you need to meet an independent voter so as to inform your column. Consequently, I plan bring an actual strawman on the debate stage for when you are too afraid in engage the actual me as a real flesh and blood individual instead of a stereotype. Further, on your strawman about tyranny, I recommend that you consult Aristotle’s Politics on the subject of degenerate democracy leading to tyranny and you will find that history proves your ill-considered point dangerously wrong; while your fallacious argument may play with the ignorant (Is that your opinion of the Post’s readership?), I am not such.

Note, I will be posting this letter on-line as an insurance policy that you are not too cowardly to publicly debate me, a common everyday American. Based upon your ill-considered response to me at the Miller Center, you have made this personal; you can take your correction publicly on stage or on-line…your choice.

All the best,

Jim Woods

Selfish Citizenship