“I know that everything is futile when the house is burning. But I have to do this, as long as it is at all possible; for if those who are obliged to look after commas had always made sure they were in the right place, then Shanghai would not be burning.”
So true, so true.
Have you noticed that when the remarks of our esteemed Secretary of State are published they are of her emotional state or feeling? Seriously–Clinton “concerned” or Clinton “disapointed” or Clinton “Supports”. No facts or context just the views and feelings of the smartest woman to ever flunk the D.C. bar. She is also for “fair elections” in Lebanon and all the remarks could be from a 9th grade civics students–all options on teh table, fair talk, support democracy, how does such idiocy escape notice? Odd how its come to this. Certainly, this is something you of all people have noticed. Also, the politicians including the president say things like debt is unsustainable.
Hi Robert –
Kraus is a new discovery for me. I’m delighted. A misanthrope after my own heart.
People have a relationship to words that’s intolerable to me. Most of it consists of self-medication or jargon – whether social science or psychiatric, or self-help…
to an extent it’s unavoidable, but it leads to a gradual deadening of differences, nuances, subtleties..
People no longer care to make these distinctions. From there, it’s easy to fall into the trap of overt propagandists.
Appropriation of language..that’s the game. You notice, that the whole libertarian survivalist language has gone mainstream – why?
Partly, of course, it’s been adopted by people because it’s something that’s needed.
But there are subtler currents. When the language of anything subversive is adopted by the culture at large, it automatically becomes weakened..it become’s commercialized – now we will will have an upsurge of gardening tools, products…well and good. But it will be come an end in itself as the marketing machines of thousands of businesses go about feeding this new consumption item.
So the initial impetus – which is to reduce consumption, becomes simply a redirection of consumption. In that way, it becomes vitiated..
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