Re: Pat Buchanan’s article Libya, Isis, Rioting In Kiev: Hagel Didn’t Start the Fire

From: An Annoyed Reader [Email Him]

Perhaps nothing better illustrates the degree to which the cultural revolution of the past fifty years has cheapened public discourse better than the fact that a Patrick J. Buchanan column on an outlet dedicated to defending traditional American culture now comes appended to an MTV video.

James Fulford writes: I’m afraid this is my fault. Pat’s title was “Hagel Didn’t Start The Fire”, a reference to Billy Joel’s 1989 song “We Didn’t Start The Fire.”

I added the references to Libya, Isis, and Rioting in Kiev partly to give readers who only see the headline a better idea of the column’s subject—necessary in a webzine, in a way it isn’t in the newspaper—but in conscious imitation of Joel’s lyrics, which rhythmically cover American history from the 40s to the 80s

Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn's got a winning team Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Khrushchev Princess Grace, Peyton Place, Trouble in the Suez

Pat would not only know what all that is about—there are

and a Wikipedia

devoted to explaining the cultural references to the younger generation—but he actually lived through it.

Having added that to the title, I thought it worth adding the video. There's a case for saying that the song is not only about American culture, but after 25 years, it's become part of it.