Ah, I finally have internet at home again, which is nice.
I was reading this thread today in CE and it got me thinking. About politics (what else?
). More specifically, about the people who founded the United States. Now that Washington, Jefferson, Paine, Adams, Franklin etc. have all become historical figures, we've changed them into these grandiose ideas who said and did great things, but have lost the essence of the fact that they were actually people, like you and me, who just managed to do something really cool.
I always laugh when I hear religious conservatives tell me that the "founding fathers" (for lack of a better term) were "Christians" who stood for moral rectitude and would approve of what groups like the Christian Coalition are doing today. In point of fact, if one reads their personal writings they were actually a bunch of radicals with some crazy ideas about government and life who believed that if they worked together they could actually change the way things work. And they did. Sometimes it's difficult to appreciate how truly revolutionary some of their ideas were at the time - the notions of religious tolerance and secular government were primarily in the realm of philosophy at the time. Democracy of a sort had existed in ancient Greece and to an extent ancient Rome (pre-Emperor, of course) but these were long forgotten and absolutism ruled the day. Basically a bunch of guys (sorry ladies, for the most part your turn, no less important, would come later) with a reasonable knowledge of ancient history and contemporary philosophy developed an entirely new form of government founded not on military might or economic hegemony but on universal lofty principles, so well conceived that they are still applied today (with a few minor alterations, of course.
)
A little while ago I saw Eric Schlosser speak about his new book. He began his talk by reciting that famous quotation from Margaret Mead, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Of course, in his talk, the group of committed individuals he was referring to were George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, John Ashcroft and Paul Wolfowitz. And while he openly admitted that he doesn't agree with any of the changes they're implementing, he did admit that he respects the strength of their determination in believing in a concept that a lot of people thought had died with the 60's - that people focused unwaveringly on a particular vision can achieve that goal, even if it seems impossible.
Some of us, particularly those of us who consider ourselves leftists or liberals, have felt completely powerless and appalled about the direction that the US has taken since November of 2000. When I feel that way though, I like to think about not the people like Bush who are corrupting the vision of what people like Jefferson conceived, but of the fact that a bunch of ragtag leftist rebels in the 1770's with a lot of really good ideas and some determination were able to see them through and defeat the world's strongest military power at the time to do so.
There's another saying that I'm not nearly as fond of that goes something like "If you're not a rebel by the age of 20, you have no heart, but if you haven't turned establishment by 30, you have no brain." Call me idealistic, or quixotic even, but I believe this is bullshit. I think that's the credo of those who never took a chance in their lives that ever meant anything, who chose to do what was easy over what was right. I have a conceit to admit - I'm constantly keeping my eye open for people who think the same way I do, who haven't given up their idealism and won't give it up, and who share some of the ideas that I have for remaking our world into something better, and I've found a lot. More than I ever hoped existed. Some of them will be reading this. These days, things are changing so quickly and in so many ways that are poorly understood that I think it really is possible. Things don't necessarily have to get continually worse if we don't think they should. And eventually the opportunity will prevent itself for us to actually change things. Just be ready.
I was reading this thread today in CE and it got me thinking. About politics (what else?
). More specifically, about the people who founded the United States. Now that Washington, Jefferson, Paine, Adams, Franklin etc. have all become historical figures, we've changed them into these grandiose ideas who said and did great things, but have lost the essence of the fact that they were actually people, like you and me, who just managed to do something really cool.
I always laugh when I hear religious conservatives tell me that the "founding fathers" (for lack of a better term) were "Christians" who stood for moral rectitude and would approve of what groups like the Christian Coalition are doing today. In point of fact, if one reads their personal writings they were actually a bunch of radicals with some crazy ideas about government and life who believed that if they worked together they could actually change the way things work. And they did. Sometimes it's difficult to appreciate how truly revolutionary some of their ideas were at the time - the notions of religious tolerance and secular government were primarily in the realm of philosophy at the time. Democracy of a sort had existed in ancient Greece and to an extent ancient Rome (pre-Emperor, of course) but these were long forgotten and absolutism ruled the day. Basically a bunch of guys (sorry ladies, for the most part your turn, no less important, would come later) with a reasonable knowledge of ancient history and contemporary philosophy developed an entirely new form of government founded not on military might or economic hegemony but on universal lofty principles, so well conceived that they are still applied today (with a few minor alterations, of course.
)
A little while ago I saw Eric Schlosser speak about his new book. He began his talk by reciting that famous quotation from Margaret Mead, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Of course, in his talk, the group of committed individuals he was referring to were George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, John Ashcroft and Paul Wolfowitz. And while he openly admitted that he doesn't agree with any of the changes they're implementing, he did admit that he respects the strength of their determination in believing in a concept that a lot of people thought had died with the 60's - that people focused unwaveringly on a particular vision can achieve that goal, even if it seems impossible.
Some of us, particularly those of us who consider ourselves leftists or liberals, have felt completely powerless and appalled about the direction that the US has taken since November of 2000. When I feel that way though, I like to think about not the people like Bush who are corrupting the vision of what people like Jefferson conceived, but of the fact that a bunch of ragtag leftist rebels in the 1770's with a lot of really good ideas and some determination were able to see them through and defeat the world's strongest military power at the time to do so.
There's another saying that I'm not nearly as fond of that goes something like "If you're not a rebel by the age of 20, you have no heart, but if you haven't turned establishment by 30, you have no brain." Call me idealistic, or quixotic even, but I believe this is bullshit. I think that's the credo of those who never took a chance in their lives that ever meant anything, who chose to do what was easy over what was right. I have a conceit to admit - I'm constantly keeping my eye open for people who think the same way I do, who haven't given up their idealism and won't give it up, and who share some of the ideas that I have for remaking our world into something better, and I've found a lot. More than I ever hoped existed. Some of them will be reading this. These days, things are changing so quickly and in so many ways that are poorly understood that I think it really is possible. Things don't necessarily have to get continually worse if we don't think they should. And eventually the opportunity will prevent itself for us to actually change things. Just be ready.
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AM I GOD YET?
That's some funny shit.