One of the points I was trying to make in Reader Response on the Eisenhower Memorial, was that the tenor of critique I am hearing is more often than not full of snark and personal criticism. Which is less than helpful. A recent example of this comes from John Massengale, who descibes himself as a recovering architect:

It’s cold. It’s winter. It’s minus 20 degrees, an arctic wind is blowing in from the Russian steppes, and you’re walking on the biggest street in Moscow. Above you in the swirling snow loom three towers that increase the wind chill factor to minus 100 degrees. All the vokda in Russia won’t fix this picture.

Haha Hadid? No no Nanotchka!

via Veritas et Venustas: The Second Semi-Annual Slouching Towards Alphaville Award Redux.

Less snark, more criticism; please.

Aaron Sorkin says it best in his Syracuse University commencement address this year (quote starts at 12m 48s but the whole speech is worth listening to):

Don’t ever forget that you’re a citizen of this world, and there are things you can do to lift the human spirit, things that are easy, things that are free, things that you can do every day. Civility, respect, kindness, character. You’re too good for schadenfreude, you’re too good for gossip and snark, you’re too good for intolerance — and since you’re walking into the middle of a presidential election, it’s worth mentioning that you’re too good to think people who disagree with you are your enemy.