But *seriously* seriously, it's a relief to see there's a new monster on the block. The megalomania and thuggery of the Bush crew may, at long last, banish the bogeyman of Joseph Stalin. NB Jonathan Freedland's Guardian column today, "Stalin Is Alive," which states:
"Stalinism and its excesses have seared into the human mind a scepticism about all projects aimed at fundamental change. The fear is that any revolutionary ambition for society will always end in disaster, that any goal larger than gradual reform will lead to a bloodbath - and it is Stalin who stands as the cold, unbudging precedent. This has been disabling for the left. For half a century it has feared articulating a grand vision for humanity, lest it stir too many echoes of the Georgian. It has contented itself with smaller, more incremental plans. Few would have predicted it but, 50 years on, Stalin's corpse has barely relaxed his icy grip."
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,5673,907593,00.html>
Thanks to Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld & Co., I think Stalin's death grip on the leftist imagination is easing already.
Carl
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