Instant-Mix Imperial Democracy
Revolutionary populism in a post-democratic world
'Ya' read Paul Krugman's book?' 'Nah... I've been watching Arnie reruns. True Lies was way cool...'
Whatever happens, and it being okay with Shelley, I'll probably be putting up a new site and blog before long. I've not much more to say on this one. Yet, by writing less here over the past month than I have since setting out in January 2002, I've learnt a great deal.
In a manner of speaking...
Bear with me.
'...'
People who have been accustomed to stability can't bring themselves to believe what is happening when faced with a revolutionary power, and are therefore ineffective in opposing it.
Paul Krugman | The Great Unraveling
I've tried different writing forms and styles, and junked most. Initially a personal blogger, i.e. relating everyday events as a reflection of myself to the page, I found myself wanting and felt a need to express more of that which I know to be there. There are ways of doing this but this page, as it stands, shows how "allusory" I've become. I've descended to a cryptic, oblique, impenetrable style that means little but to the person writing it (and stalwarts like Frank).
It shouldn't be that way.
Jay Rosen says, "Things are in the saddle and ride mankind."
There's no nice way to explain how the administration uses cooked numbers to sell its tax cuts, or how its arrogance and gullibility led to the current mess in Iraq.
Paul Krugman | New York Times
Writing is communication and, if I cannot 'clearly spell it out' in a manner similar to J.M. Coetzee, as reported by the New York Times or the Guardian, I should try to better explain myself, my postings and my views.
Why? Who knows. I think they affect all of us. Some writers are arrogant, insufferable people.
Perhaps Coetzee's passion for privacy is insufferable to some. I do not believe him insufferable. Those who've not read Disgrace would do well to read the reviews to which I've linked (entry below), particularly Michael S. Kochin's analysis of the book.
'Yeah? Well, we're in the fucking saddle now...'
Pundits who predict moderation on the part of the Bush administration, on any issue, have been consistently wrong. Kissinger again: "It is the essence of a revolutionary power that it possesses the courage of its convictions, that it is willing, indeed eager, to push its principles to their ultimate conclusion."
Paul Krugman | Guardian
Perhaps most don't see the world as Coetzee does. Lucky them. Those who appreciate his ability to distil our passage through darkness to succinct analogy will have to live with their appreciation in a silence with which they've probably grown too comfortable.
Either way, along with the likes of Willian Golding (ignore facile reviews), his writing deserves recognition. In the world he inhabits and of which he writes, the Nobel Prize for Literature probably means little; but it is something, a start.
'...and we'll ride those wusses right into the ground.'
So that's the way it is. I suspect that many readers, despite everything that has happened, will find it an alarmist picture. As Kissinger wrote, "Those who warn against the danger are considered alarmists; those who counsel adaptation to circumstance are considered balanced and sane." But so far the alarmists have been right, every time.
Paul Krugman | Guardian
Whether people 'get' Coetzee or not, is immaterial. He 'gets' them. The New York Times article on his 'lecture' was written by a journalist who either did or did not hear what Coetzee was saying. It does not matter. The irony is beautiful and the article is a gem.
For myself, a blogger, I find I have no creative response to the monstrous evil now sweeping the world. It is imperative that I find one if I am to avoid a poor man's version of Coetzee's sense of knowing.
Rational Animals
I'm all for good manners, but this isn't a dinner party. The opposing sides in our national debate are far apart on fundamental issues, from fiscal and environmental policies to national security and civil liberties. It's the duty of pundits and politicians to make those differences clear, not to play them down for fear that someone will be offended.
Paul Krugman | New York Times
Links
- Paul Krugman The Great Unraveling
- Russel Baker The Awful Truth
- Arundhati Roy Instant-Mix Imperial Democracy (Buy One, Get One Free)
- John Pilger "They put the lie to their own propaganda"
- John Pilger Breaking The Silence: Truth and Lies in the War on Terror
- Michael S. Kochin Reflections on J.M. Coetzee's Disgrace
