Goodnight, America

[jouis_sens]

Comments

[daoinesidh]

I cried when I watched these clips last night ... so incredibly heartbreaking and infuriating that this level of mob-ignorance still permeates the base of our culture. Time to break up the foundation and rebuild from scratch ... or throw in the towel, which, I'm sorry to say, I would if anywhere else would have me!

As always, thanks for your posts ... keeping up with this mess is INCREDIBLY important!

[jouis_sens]

If it can be any perverse comfort, know that everywhere is as bad as everywhere else - there's really nowhere we can hope to escape from it.

[daoinesidh]

It is strangely (and yes, perversely) comforting, in a way ... but I do feel like I would be happier in Europe, because I like the architecture better over there ... and the food ... and the museums ... and the ... :)

Even after all these years I never stop being impressed by what you do to|with language.

[signsof]

Somewhere in a distant heaven, you've made William Burroughs very happy.

Wish I could find vid of that one woman I caught a glimpse of screaming about prayer in schools, the lunatic way she connected it all to the healthcare thing as part of the great "secular conspiracy". (Not in those terms of course, meta being far out of her reach. "Me no know big words. Jesus sez OBama is teh DEVIL.") Did you see that one?

Re: Even after all these years I never stop being impressed by what you do to|with language.

[jouis_sens]

I didn't see it, though - in the overall scheme of things - that's perhaps best. It was an embarrassment of riches, and I reached the uncomfortable surfeit threshold fairly quickly. What I -do- wish I could find is the rest of an incredibly tantalizing, all-too-brief snippet that the CLNR sent me as raw feed: some wild-eyed citizen is attempting his turn at diatribing, he's reading off of a sheet of paper some stupid agitprop that he clearly doesn't really understand yet passionately believes in, and the clip ends with him mid-sentence, incoherently trying to shout something along the lines of "[the healthcare reform] will destroy American Exceptionalism." I have not been rendered speechless in almost a decade.

[signsof]

"[the healthcare reform] will destroy American Exceptionalism."

*Gapes*
*Faints*
*Gets up and resumes gaping*

[benicek]

Oh f***, I had no idea all this was going on in the US. But, Christ, you actually debate national politics in public? Nobody here could care less. I'm going now directly to my cupboard of admiration and bringing Americans all the boxes I have, because at least you bother.

[jouis_sens]

Noooooooooo, no, no. Rest assured, we do not actually in any way, shape, or form, debate national politics in public forums. We manifestly do not bother. Although the misleading 'town hall meeting' rubric makes it sound like that, this was merely a wee PR wagon rolled out by the Obama administration just this month for the specific and temporary purpose of providing a brief 'orientation' if you will, to what were supposed to be the upcoming - and, objectively, quite minor - changes to healthcare. Americans are actually less involved in the politics of their country than any other western nation on earth. It's as bad here as where you are, which is more or less equally as bad as Everywhere: In the main, nobody anywhere could care less. History has proven bread and circus to be a literally mind-bogglingly successful soporific. I make it a point to have lunch with an anarchist once a week just to cheer myself up.

[daoinesidh]

You took the words right out of my fingertips ... all very true ... although I think that some western countries are better than others in having a somewhat vocal/involved populace. When we were living in France back in 1995/96 I was fairly impressed with how much our friends, not to mention the majority of French citizens, were actively involved in fighting for the rights they believed were being taken away by the Juppe government ... shut down the damned train system at one point, if I am remembering correctly! Manifestations dans les rues and all of that ... pretty incredible!

[benicek]

Oh I see. That anarchist (BTW, aren't libertarians the same thing?) must be growing fat on your misery, literally.

[dulcemia]

After Bill S. passes, there's going to be a lot of pressure on you to step in as the reigning American differend; are you up to it? :) This thing about the referent is beyond disturbing. +"We'll turn into Russia"+??? Good god. Sonia and I go round with this all the time, and Zizek's take on the concept of "America-bashing," but I really find it difficult to argue against the notion that, while everywhere has its problems, America isn't in fact at least just a +little+ more insane/screwed up than most other countries.

It's times like this I'm deeply grateful that the nearest neighbors are almost 50 miles away. It truly is disturbing to really think about just exactly who you're surrounded by. I think I'll make a bunker out of the cats on the bed and spend the day inside it reading It Can't Happen Here.

[jouis_sens]

Oh, it's so funny that you mention him -- he's been on my mind regularly since I've been back in Binghamton. (As for heir apparent-ing: I'm not going to be anybody's anything - I'm going to quietly plot revolution with Badiou and spend the rest of the time being a vineyardkeeper.) While it's ultimately hard to know if one's assessment is being significantly colored by standpoint, I think there's a fairly sound objective base for that argument. Equal or no, it will be nice to be surrounded by slightly different inequities, cultural foibles, &tc. Just for the change of pace, you know..

[zenos_arrow]

Sorry, had to delete that other one due to bad language. I was just so overwhelmed with excitement to find one I hadn't read when I was sure I'd seen everything. You, this: Yes.