> But there's something different about
> how the U.S. goes about the business of repression - there's more
> reverence for the military, more God and flag (no other remotely
> democratic country has a pledge of allegiance, right?), more
> religious lunacy. Sure that's always been part of the culture, but
> there's more of it now, and pressure for even more. And it's pretty
> damned scary.
Yes it is, but on the other side there are some signs that more and more people are getting scared, and (wonder of wonders!) the Bushies might even bring about some unity on the left in the next few months. (For example, statements by some Greens that they might even be willing to support a Democratic candidate.)
OTOH, about the pledge of allegiance, "religious lunacy," etc., that stuff seems to be a pretty long-term characteristic of the American people. I wish we could come up with some way of expunging it from the body politic, but it seems that the best we can do is keep it at the level of a low-grade fever, or a localized infection that is confined to certain parts of the body and doesn't metastasize all over.
Jon Johanning // jjohanning at igc.org ________________________________ How good bad music and bad reasons sound when we march against an enemy. -- Nietzsche