[lbo-talk] Re: barbarian of the moment

[Carl Remick]

>From: Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com>
>
>We've been through this a million times before, but I'll say it briefly one 
>more time. It's not enough to get "facts" out there. Many Americans just 
>don't want to hear or know about the nasty things our government does. On 
>some factual level they might actually "know" - but that knowledge is 
>compartmentalized. They want to believe in the deep, fundamental goodness 
>of the USA and avoid information to the contrary.

Hate to put a damper on the holiday season, but I think one reason for 
Americans' amazing ability to believe what ain't so is their absurd 
religiosity. IMO, strong belief in the benignity of a cosmic supreme being 
is just the kind of mindset needed for belief in the "deep, fundamental 
goodness of the USA."

But obviously there's more to the problem than religion.  I've been catching 
up with the 4th season of The Sopranos (just released on tape) and have been 
impressed once again by that series' grasp of the US as a society powered 
almost entirely by bullshit -- a nation in denial about its own base motives 
that uses an ever more glitttering array of pop-psych concepts to justify 
its own violence and self-indulgence.

Carl

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