That Harper's letter, to me, is in large part from people who are unhappy that they're not leading the current conversation, addressed to the many other people they believe are also unhappy that they're not leading it.

A couple clarifications based on things people have asked: Of course, there's not merely one conversation. Of course. What I mean by that is I think some people with institutional roles that traditionally offer authority don't feel like that authority is holding.

It's also completely fair to say this, on my part, isn't a response to the body of the letter, which is mostly because I don't think it offers anything new to respond to. I'm more curious about why this was done in this way right now than I am in repeating this discussion.

So yes, I entirely agree that I'm answering it as a curiosity and its publication as an event, more than I'm going another round at a discussion that's literally been going on all my adult life. It made me wonder about this group of folks thinking this was what they wanted to do.

That's all. I really do think a lot of smart people are trying to figure out what this moment asks of them.