Eloquent rant indeed, as any self-respecting rant should always aspire to be. Can't disagree with the kernel of its ideological thrust though, it's a little imbecilic to even begin to compare the inbuilt weaknesses of left wing liberalism to the out and out evil of closet racism, xenophobia, not to mention misogyny that's been suddenly emboldened by this ongoing surge on the right. And it will be interesting to see just how long this honeymoon with the kind of nationalism that so miserably failed Latin America will last Europe.
Helen Ikua It all seems so childish, doesn't it? People thrash around in adolescent hope for dramatic change, but slow steady calm progress is much more efficient, and less harmful overall. Doesn't make good copy, though.
Kent Crispin What's truly amazing is people's capacity to learn absolutely nothing from the lessons of history. The irony of a billionaire who won an election by convincing flyover country that he himself is not part of the elite and therefore not part of the problem, and the fantasy of a candidate who thinks that he's the new old broom that's finally going to garner enough goodwill all round to clean Washington of its lobbyists and its cancerous influence peddlers, and that my friend, pretty much sums up election 2016. A version of a sound bite of a reality became an election victory, and we the people against establishment Washington's elite consensus is now become the dangerous spin that shall propagate from atop Trump Tower all the way down to KKK HQ. Say, on a happier note, you're not planning on trundling off to see Copenhagen, are ya? You know the world would be a duller place if I didn't see it through your impromptu jaunts hither and thither.
Helen Ikua As chance would have it, I was in Copenhagen for a couple of days last year. The sky was beautiful for one day, and I took some photos that I will share with you (it will take me a while to get them together). But, though everyone was polite and friendly, it's a monoculture that left me uncomfortable. Also, I'm happy with cool, even maybe extreme cool. But it was serious cold, and I wouldn't want to live there :-)
Kent Crispin Photos would be nice, yeah. Sad to hear about the monoculture, one would hope that perhaps immigration had given the place some additional colour. And reading through the article place sounds expensive.
Eloquent rant indeed, as any self-respecting rant should always aspire to be. Can't disagree with the kernel of its ideological thrust though, it's a little imbecilic to even begin to compare the inbuilt weaknesses of left wing liberalism to the out and out evil of closet racism, xenophobia, not to mention misogyny that's been suddenly emboldened by this ongoing surge on the right. And it will be interesting to see just how long this honeymoon with the kind of nationalism that so miserably failed Latin America will last Europe.
ReplyDeleteHelen Ikua It all seems so childish, doesn't it? People thrash around in adolescent hope for dramatic change, but slow steady calm progress is much more efficient, and less harmful overall. Doesn't make good copy, though.
ReplyDeleteKent Crispin What's truly amazing is people's capacity to learn absolutely nothing from the lessons of history. The irony of a billionaire who won an election by convincing flyover country that he himself is not part of the elite and therefore not part of the problem, and the fantasy of a candidate who thinks that he's the new old broom that's finally going to garner enough goodwill all round to clean Washington of its lobbyists and its cancerous influence peddlers, and that my friend, pretty much sums up election 2016. A version of a sound bite of a reality became an election victory, and we the people against establishment Washington's elite consensus is now become the dangerous spin that shall propagate from atop Trump Tower all the way down to KKK HQ. Say, on a happier note, you're not planning on trundling off to see Copenhagen, are ya? You know the world would be a duller place if I didn't see it through your impromptu jaunts hither and thither.
ReplyDeleteHelen Ikua As chance would have it, I was in Copenhagen for a couple of days last year. The sky was beautiful for one day, and I took some photos that I will share with you (it will take me a while to get them together). But, though everyone was polite and friendly, it's a monoculture that left me uncomfortable. Also, I'm happy with cool, even maybe extreme cool. But it was serious cold, and I wouldn't want to live there :-)
ReplyDeleteKent Crispin
ReplyDeletePhotos would be nice, yeah. Sad to hear about the monoculture, one would hope that perhaps immigration had given the place some additional colour. And reading through the article place sounds expensive.