-----Original Message----- From: owner-lbo-talk at lists.panix.com [mailto:owner-lbo-talk at lists.panix.com]On Behalf Of Wojtek Sokolowski Sent: Friday, November 03, 2000 11:44 AM To: lbo-talk at lists.panix.com Subject: Waiting for Stalingrad
It is the end of the week, and the Repugs are poised to take over all three branches of the government next Tuesday. I've been following the election debate on this list to the point of neglecting my other duties, so it is time to pause and reflect on how things are in the great scheme of life. My depression starts taking its toll, and such moments bring to mind a World War II story which once left considerable impression on me.
After the Nazi takeover of Poland in 1939, a man risked his life by listening to foreign broadcast (possession of radio receivers was banned by the Nazis) and hoping to hear the news of the allies launching the promised invasion of Germany. The winter had passed and the invasion had not materialized. Then came the spring, and the Nazis invaded Western Europe. Upon hearing the news of Nazi troops entering Paris, the man hanged himself. The fall of Paris was the end of civilization as he knew it, and all his hopes were extinguished.
Why does this story of one wartime suicide amidst the death of millions capture my attention? Well, from the hindsight we know that after Paris came Stalingrad, which rendered that act of despair pathetically shortsighted and futile. Why could not he see Stalingrad after Paris? The wisdom is to see the difference between a lost battle and the end of the civilisation as we know it.
The last twenty years saw a progressing defeat of what once was social democracy and its few strands that found their way to this side of Atlantic. The electoral politics played the role of the Maginot line - a bulwark of false sense of security that was easily outmaneuvered by the advancing armies. In the end, the Democrat party turned to be a Vichy - . . . So the best thing we can do, my friends, in those sad and depressing times is to wait for Stalingrad, enjoy the relics of the past glory: wine, cafe life, literature, and classical music, and hope to live long enough to see better times.
Sheesh. Things ain't that bad. I'm glad you see the short-sightedness of hanging yourself.
mbs