----- Original Message ----- From: "Carrol Cox" <cbcox at ilstu.edu>
We're not talking about the laws of history, so far as I am concerned, but with the implicit assumptions which tend to structure the response to the world of a large mass of the u.s. public. In the past some have thought that Progress was a "Law of History," and while perhaps few have self-consciously held to that as theory since August 1914,* I think it still informs the consciousness of 10s of millions of those who dwell in the "City on the Hill" the pilgrim fathers aimed to build: and that aspect of american popular consciousness is perhaps the major barrier to conceiving of the u.s. as an aggressor nation.
Carrol
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The same american popular consciousness that watches the Sopranos, the Simpsons and Survivor All Stars Reunion and reads the "Left Behind" series is not interested in the City on the Hill. The *deep theological pessimism* of the latter group is a big part of the reason the Bushies can sell jingoism as well as they do. They want to have US fp operationalize the apocalypse/rapture so they can get off the planet. The *deep secular pessimism* of some leftists is what helps keep the former group glued to the tube.
And now, for some practical advice:
"If you assume that there is no hope, you guarantee that there will be no hope. If you assume that there is an instinct for freedom, there are opportunities to change things, etc., there's a chance to contribute to the making of a better world. That's your choice." [NC]
And stop changing the subject header. It's annoying.
Ian