I'm sorry to have jumped down your throat -- reading this entry over today, I can see how self-righteous a lot of it is. Doesn't change my opinion, but it changes the timbre of my thoughts. Know what I mean? We hold respect in this culture, overwhelmingly, for individuality, and the entity that is the individual. Think about Dr Phil's message of finding your authentic self, think about teenage rebellion, think about the social darwinism that hides our hierarchy, think about capitalism where the few individuals triumph over the rest... we mythologize and venerate these individual heros you've cited -- these Gandhis, MLKs, Zorros, Supermen, whatever -- individuals who do more than we think we ever could. But honestly, what did they have that you and I do not? What spurred them past the humble ranks of barista or graduate student? Adverse circumstances, perhaps? This is the chance for our entire generation to become those heroes, to stand up to the ignorance and hatred, and take back power in some new way. We're using old methods these days -- protest, disavowal, complaint -- that's not the way to deal with a new problem.
I want so much more for myself and for this country, too. Where you and I were butting heads was over what to do about it. I think we even agree something needs to be done, but we're stuck on what. Is it leave? Is it disband? Is it fight? Is it turn a blind eye to ignorance and hatred? I read a book once, I no longer remember what it was, that talked about the concept of nation-building. It said that every nation goes through periods of tolerance and ignorance, and that the pendulum of acceptance would always be swinging. Look at France, where hate crimes have stepped up toward both Jewish and Muslim families and individuals, look at England where neo-nazi-ism is on the rise. This is a global phenomenon here, this is a global change. I can't help feeling like the U.S., land of milk and honey, sure, but also land of Japanese internment camps during WWII, land of McCarthyism, land of immigrant-hatred, and land of slavery and lynchmobs, is just part of a bigger pattern, something we can help avert. This country has never been the ideal your family was looking for, nowhere has ever been heaven.
"I don't believe in Bush" is the best quote yet!
We hold respect in this culture, overwhelmingly, for individuality, and the entity that is the individual. Think about Dr Phil's message of finding your authentic self, think about teenage rebellion, think about the social darwinism that hides our hierarchy, think about capitalism where the few individuals triumph over the rest... we mythologize and venerate these individual heros you've cited -- these Gandhis, MLKs, Zorros, Supermen, whatever -- individuals who do more than we think we ever could. But honestly, what did they have that you and I do not? What spurred them past the humble ranks of barista or graduate student? Adverse circumstances, perhaps?
This is the chance for our entire generation to become those heroes, to stand up to the ignorance and hatred, and take back power in some new way.
We're using old methods these days -- protest, disavowal, complaint -- that's not the way to deal with a new problem.
I want so much more for myself and for this country, too. Where you and I were butting heads was over what to do about it. I think we even agree something needs to be done, but we're stuck on what. Is it leave? Is it disband? Is it fight? Is it turn a blind eye to ignorance and hatred?
I read a book once, I no longer remember what it was, that talked about the concept of nation-building. It said that every nation goes through periods of tolerance and ignorance, and that the pendulum of acceptance would always be swinging. Look at France, where hate crimes have stepped up toward both Jewish and Muslim families and individuals, look at England where neo-nazi-ism is on the rise. This is a global phenomenon here, this is a global change. I can't help feeling like the U.S., land of milk and honey, sure, but also land of Japanese internment camps during WWII, land of McCarthyism, land of immigrant-hatred, and land of slavery and lynchmobs, is just part of a bigger pattern, something we can help avert. This country has never been the ideal your family was looking for, nowhere has ever been heaven.