Diamond's sensible-sounding advice these days sounds like a recipe for silence. Brecht has a different point of view:
In the dark times, will there also be singing? Yes, there will be singing, about the dark times.
I think it is a myth that we are weak because we kvetch. The right does _nothing but_ kvetch. Listen to an hour of whatisname, the fat drug addict, Rush Limbaugh or Bill O'Reilly or Ann Coulter. You think they are bubbling fountains of optimism? You think that if we managed to be Morning In America-ish all the time it would help us despite our lack of organization and resources? I don't believe it.
jks
--- Michael Dawson <MDawson at pdx.edu> wrote:
> Leftists could take a lesson from Jared Diamond, who
> is careful to explain
> that the only reason to talk about problems is hope
> for bettering
> intervention.
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org
> [mailto:lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org]
> > On Behalf Of Jon Johanning
> > Sent: Friday, November 26, 2004 5:56 AM
> > To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
> > Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] Fantasies of Left
> Liberalism
> >
> > I suspect that the image of the "gloomy leftist"
> is not due so much to
> > experiences with actual depressive and/or
> depressing individuals as it
> > is to the fact that so much Left writing seems to
> be an unrelieved list
> > of disasters past, present or predicted. The
> people writing this
> > material may be perfectly cheerful in person, but
> what emerges from
> > their keyboards, pens, pencils or whatever is
> quite the opposite.
> >
> >
> > Jon Johanning // jjohanning at igc.org
> > __________________________
> > In my religion there would be no exclusive
> doctrine; all would be love,
> > poetry and doubt. -- Cyril Connoll (The Unquiet
> Grave)
> >
> > ___________________________________
> >
>
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>
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>
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>
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