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And now dear reader, after several months of diversion, I'm going back to my original, stated purpose for this blog.
| As you know I love to let you in on books I recommend, and today's book exemplifies the focus of much of my thought process in recent months. After reading it I felt buoyed by some astounding observations about American culture from a psychologist's POV. The author is Bruce E. Levine, and his book is Get up, Stand up. He examines the destruction of collective self-confidence, and describes how as a society we have lost our strength to fight back against oppressive forces. There is a way to rally that energy and that is the beauty of this work. Without giving it away, I simply urge you not to hesitate to dive into this book. It just might fortify your outlook for the rest of the year. |
Sounds interesting--it's going on my library list! Thanks for the heads up. And speaking of "oppressive forces," here's a little something I saw today that will confirm, nay, exceed, your worst suspicions and set your blood to bubbling. All that was missing was a puppy kicking booth.
ReplyDeletehttp://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/02/i-crashed-a-wall-street-secret-society.html
Next time you're looking for a good read, check out "The Brothers," by Steven Kinzer. It's the story of the Dulles brothers and the colossal mess they made while essentially running U.S. foreign policy in the fifties. If you want to read a detailed and vivid account of why "they" hate us, this does the job quite nicely.
Regarding the NYmag article, what I find interesting is why, if these guys are so arrogant, do they even bother being concerned that a journalist has infiltrated their ranks. Do they seriously not recognize that the gig is up and we're on to them? I know, the criticism can be so harsh, but really guys, if you can't take the heat...I've got plenty of Hollywood fantasies for these folk, like the Godfather and some horse heads, or better yet a reenactment of Carrie. Although I couldn't harm any REAL pigs just to make a point to these guys. Not sure I can even really call them GUYS!! What a sad state of affairs.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing that even though they don't give a damn that everyone else knows they, the plutocrats, have no clothes, they still don't like being punked by undercover smarty pants reporters. I tend to believe they couldn't care less about the criticism, because only sticks, stones, and an SEC with some cojones can hurt them. They're not concerned so much about what's written about them; they're just pissed that somebody successfully snuck in to drop a turd in their punchbowl. Of course, there are a few thin-skinned crybabies like the guy who compares criticism of the 1% with the Kristallnacht, but they seem to be the exception. The majority seem to relish sticking their thumbs in our collective eyes.
ReplyDeleteThose Hollywood fantasy scenarios are very comforting, aren't they? The line from "Pulp Fiction" about going "medieval on their asses" often comes to mind. Nothing wrong with dreaming!
Ooops, almost forgot to mention that what really struck me about that article was the extreme immaturity exhibited by the attendees. Those jokes about Hillary Clinton and Barney Frank weren't even worthy of a junior high locker room. Just proves that you can't buy class.
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