Richard Dengrove, Alexandria, VA, USA
I liked Challenger #23. You started out depressed over the destruction Katrina wrought on your New Orleans. Then you got further depressed because you foresee a totally yuppified future for the city. I am not certain the future is that bleak.
What may save New Orleans is that everyone knows it is prone to flood. What incentive would the big corporations have to come in, and homogenize it? What incentive would yuppies have to set up shop there? I suspect that the people who remain in Nawlins will be committed Nawlineans. It may yet have more soul than ever.
I believe this because I can empathize, though vaguely, with committed Nawlineans, like Linda Krawecke. I come from the most rootless State, New Jersey; the State its citizens love the least. However, every time I visit the old hometown, walk its boardwalks and gaze at its faux Spanish style, a little of my youth comes back. For several days my life is bright and wonderful again.
Of course, Linda must have ten times the commitment to Nawlins I do to New Jersey.
Speaking of roots, Joseph Green writes about one of our science fiction roots, John W. Campbell, Jr. While Campbell told us about the future, he was obviously a man from the past. Maybe that is why he was able to us about the future.
He smoked, something no longer fashionable among our set, although it is right now fashionable among a younger set. Also, he made pro-slavery remarks. While they were ostensibly an attack on the p.c. of his time, I bet they had something to do with the way he was brought up. The world he came from was that long ago.
Other people’s motives are not apparent either. It’s a widespread belief that the War in Iraq was instigated by Big Oil. However, I doubt that, and what Morrie the Critic says about Iraq backs me up.
No, the Bush Administration invaded Iraq for Pie in the Sky. It deluded itself that that invasion, and others, would solve all our problems in the Middle East and make Bush, Jr. more popular than George Washington. That is why, as Morrie points out, advocating postwar planning and sufficient troop strength indicated a lack of faith.
Another thing that has taken faith, besides the Iraqi Invasion, is going to the bathroom. That was Mike Resnick’s experience in different places, mostly Kenya. That is astonishing. I knew that when animals feed, things can be dangerous. However, going to the bathroom? Mike proves that it can be.
You could get killed showing up, or, like Woody Allen said, you can fall into the embrace of the bitch goddess Success. He said 80% of his success was just showing up. I have to tell Dick Jenssen, I’m sorry, but his success had to take a lot more talent than just showing up.
Of course, what talent you need depends upon the endeavor. Greg Benford needed method and goshwow for science. He only needed goshwow to write science fiction.
Some talents are not apparent. Mike Resnick does not understand that Gene Stewart has a talent for political rhetoric.
Yes, it is not for convincing Republicans; but for playing to the choir, the liberal Democratic choir. It gets out the faithful; a political talent not to be sneezed at. The Republicans won because of it, and the Democrats may yet.
The way to get out the faithful is not with facts but a visceral attack. Political rhetoric is not aimed at the head but the viscera. The faithful respond to that better. In fact, if politicians don’t give them that rhetoric, the faithful make it up themselves. Of course, even with a message of political rhetoric, you have to find some way to get it out. Guy, you were wondering about some way affordable to get out Challenger. Maybe, a return to mimeo, like you muse. It was cheap. Of course, it was messy too. On second thought, maybe PDFs e-mailed in installments might be better.
Over the years, we liberals are getting our own buzzwords. You’re approaching buzzwords: decency, Bill of Rights, respect. Maybe it’s preparation for us finally being re-elected again. You can’t be re-elected without emotions.
All those things you want, law alone can’t provide. I have come to the conclusion ideologies are just a smokescreen. There are decent people, savages and degrees in between. Even when we want this to be a nation of laws, it can’t be unless enough people are willing to apply them. The highest good in politics is to have a decent electorate that elects decent officials.
I disagree with your subtle distinction between free speech in Stalin’s constitution and free speech in ours. The distinction is not that the State grants free speech. It’s that free speech in Stalin’s constitution was a lie. There was no free speech under Stalin by any stretch of the imagination.
It’s as I said at the beginning, we are a government of people we hope with some law attached. To eliminate pork, we need a less venial more honorable Congress than we have, and a less venial more honorable constituency. Otherwise, no legislation gets passed.
“Survivor”: Yeah, you surpassed the reality show Survivor. For one thing, unlike the Survivor show, you weren’t prepared. You didn’t volunteer to be a survivor, you were drafted. You had lived, up till then, in good times, and it was hard to believe that anything can happen at any time: hurricanes, floods, serial killer. But of course, a hurricane and a flood did.
On the other hand, you were all working together and not working against being voted off the island. In fact, that was the one thing good about a situation like that: people get more helpful. It is clear they are all in the same boat, and they will sink if they don’t bail. You were helped by neighbors, helped by nurses – helped by Hell’s Angels for Christ’s sake! That’s great!
What may save New Orleans is that everyone knows it is prone to flood. What incentive would the big corporations have to come in, and homogenize it? What incentive would yuppies have to set up shop there? I suspect that the people who remain in Nawlins will be committed Nawlineans. It may yet have more soul than ever.
I believe this because I can empathize, though vaguely, with committed Nawlineans, like Linda Krawecke. I come from the most rootless State, New Jersey; the State its citizens love the least. However, every time I visit the old hometown, walk its boardwalks and gaze at its faux Spanish style, a little of my youth comes back. For several days my life is bright and wonderful again.
Of course, Linda must have ten times the commitment to Nawlins I do to New Jersey.
Speaking of roots, Joseph Green writes about one of our science fiction roots, John W. Campbell, Jr. While Campbell told us about the future, he was obviously a man from the past. Maybe that is why he was able to us about the future.
He smoked, something no longer fashionable among our set, although it is right now fashionable among a younger set. Also, he made pro-slavery remarks. While they were ostensibly an attack on the p.c. of his time, I bet they had something to do with the way he was brought up. The world he came from was that long ago.
Other people’s motives are not apparent either. It’s a widespread belief that the War in Iraq was instigated by Big Oil. However, I doubt that, and what Morrie the Critic says about Iraq backs me up.
No, the Bush Administration invaded Iraq for Pie in the Sky. It deluded itself that that invasion, and others, would solve all our problems in the Middle East and make Bush, Jr. more popular than George Washington. That is why, as Morrie points out, advocating postwar planning and sufficient troop strength indicated a lack of faith.
Another thing that has taken faith, besides the Iraqi Invasion, is going to the bathroom. That was Mike Resnick’s experience in different places, mostly Kenya. That is astonishing. I knew that when animals feed, things can be dangerous. However, going to the bathroom? Mike proves that it can be.
You could get killed showing up, or, like Woody Allen said, you can fall into the embrace of the bitch goddess Success. He said 80% of his success was just showing up. I have to tell Dick Jenssen, I’m sorry, but his success had to take a lot more talent than just showing up.
Of course, what talent you need depends upon the endeavor. Greg Benford needed method and goshwow for science. He only needed goshwow to write science fiction.
Some talents are not apparent. Mike Resnick does not understand that Gene Stewart has a talent for political rhetoric.
Yes, it is not for convincing Republicans; but for playing to the choir, the liberal Democratic choir. It gets out the faithful; a political talent not to be sneezed at. The Republicans won because of it, and the Democrats may yet.
The way to get out the faithful is not with facts but a visceral attack. Political rhetoric is not aimed at the head but the viscera. The faithful respond to that better. In fact, if politicians don’t give them that rhetoric, the faithful make it up themselves. Of course, even with a message of political rhetoric, you have to find some way to get it out. Guy, you were wondering about some way affordable to get out Challenger. Maybe, a return to mimeo, like you muse. It was cheap. Of course, it was messy too. On second thought, maybe PDFs e-mailed in installments might be better.
Over the years, we liberals are getting our own buzzwords. You’re approaching buzzwords: decency, Bill of Rights, respect. Maybe it’s preparation for us finally being re-elected again. You can’t be re-elected without emotions.
All those things you want, law alone can’t provide. I have come to the conclusion ideologies are just a smokescreen. There are decent people, savages and degrees in between. Even when we want this to be a nation of laws, it can’t be unless enough people are willing to apply them. The highest good in politics is to have a decent electorate that elects decent officials.
I disagree with your subtle distinction between free speech in Stalin’s constitution and free speech in ours. The distinction is not that the State grants free speech. It’s that free speech in Stalin’s constitution was a lie. There was no free speech under Stalin by any stretch of the imagination.
It’s as I said at the beginning, we are a government of people we hope with some law attached. To eliminate pork, we need a less venial more honorable Congress than we have, and a less venial more honorable constituency. Otherwise, no legislation gets passed.
“Survivor”: Yeah, you surpassed the reality show Survivor. For one thing, unlike the Survivor show, you weren’t prepared. You didn’t volunteer to be a survivor, you were drafted. You had lived, up till then, in good times, and it was hard to believe that anything can happen at any time: hurricanes, floods, serial killer. But of course, a hurricane and a flood did.
On the other hand, you were all working together and not working against being voted off the island. In fact, that was the one thing good about a situation like that: people get more helpful. It is clear they are all in the same boat, and they will sink if they don’t bail. You were helped by neighbors, helped by nurses – helped by Hell’s Angels for Christ’s sake! That’s great!
posted by ;-p at 4:28 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home