spot on with the 2nd para
first para's silly though I share your mistrust of crowds, dangerous things
no idea what marching is about, ok an odd idea of militarism
i'm sure you think you've got a point, i am really sure you do
never mind
L
-----Original Message-----
From: Dominic Fox <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Thursday, March 31, 2005 10:31 AM
Subject: "Expressive anti-politics"
I think this is a very fine article; certainly it illuminates some of
the sources of my own frustration and ennui with contemporary
political theatrics:
http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewWeb&articleId=9389
I may be missing a small part of my soul; the truth is that even when
I was a student I had no time for marches and demonstrations. So not
only was I not there - by default - in '68, I was not there on any of
the occasions when I *could* have been there. I remember rolling my
eyes once at a "March against Militarism". If one did not believe that
Might made Right, why would one choose to express that non-belief by
massing together a large number of bodies and throwing their
collective weight around? The chap on the other side of the trestle
table thought I had a very queer notion of what marching was all
about. I don't know, though. I mistrust crowds. People get lost in
them.
One of the tricks the article misses is that the '68-ers' emphasis on
authenticity was itself co-opted by the Reaganite right, retooled as
competitive individualism. The author's line about "the authenticity
of conscience pitted against the requirements of a pluralistic and
conflicted society" could be applied equally to the Reaganite creed.
Every stockbroker a little existential hero. Quite a few of them were
ex-Hippies into the bargain.
Dominic
--
// Alas, this comparison function can't be total:
// bottom is beyond comparison. - Oleg Kiselyov
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