[lbo-talk] me vs them

John Lacny jlacny at earthlink.net
Tue Dec 13 15:28:07 PST 2005


Ira Glazer:


> this is a perfect example of one of the central tenets of the
> unofficial religion of the U.S., Americanism quite simply,
> my life is great and will only get better

I take a different view. The poll itself is stupid -- and a reflection of the worst kind of Americanism -- because it presupposes that people should not have empathy for others. The assumption is that because one's own life is satisfactory (at least for now!), one should therefore take satisfaction in general social conditions, even if one knows that there is rampant poverty and racism in this country, that people are dying in unnecessary wars, etc. Seventy years ago FDR talked about "one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clothed, ill-fed." By the logic of this idiotic poll, journalists and sociologists would have expressed amazement if two-thirds of the people said they were satisfied with their lives but ninety percent of the people said the country was in bad shape. Only the most clueless academics and the most insipid journalists would think there's a contradiction here.

- - - - - - - - - - John Lacny http://www.johnlacny.com

Tell no lies, claim no easy victories



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