----- Original Message ----- From: ravi To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org Sent: Wednesday, February 16, 2005 10:44 AM Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] Churchill's Complaint: Romantic Americanism
Charles Brown wrote:
> Re: Turbulo :
>> I don't see the point to all this careful parsing of Churchill's remarks.
>> Were computer programmers who worked in the WTC more culpable than janitors?
>> It's pretty obvious to me that, despite recent disclaimers, Churchill buys
>> into notions of "mass guilt" on the part of ordinary citizens of imperialist
>> countries.
>
> The American people do bear some responsibility to get their rogue state
> under control. Who else is going to do it ? The central portrait of USers as
> the main victims in this whole scene is an expression of Romantic
> Americanism.
>
any individual who is better positioned to gain information on the true state of things and act based on that, is more responsible than a person who is less so ... yes? i.e., not just a WTC programmer, but also me (a non-WTC programmer) is more culpable (in a sense) for US atrocities than an undocumented worker in the "windows to the world" (or whatever it was called) restaurant. i am thinking here of chomsky's essay on the responsibility of intellectuals, applied to one's social/financial status.
--ravi ====================
Saw Steve Earle & the Dukes play the other night.
Money quote (literally): "I make an embarrassing amount of money... for a borderline marxist."
He talked about war... how the US unions have been reduced to insignificance and split from global labor, and oppression, and how talking about it didn't make him feel a damn bit less complicit.
Awesome... Absolutely awesome.
" Look atcha'... Yeah, take a look in the mirror... now tell me what you see. Another satisfied customer filling their life with the American dream. I remember when we was both out on the boulevard Talkin' revolution and singin' the blues. Now days, it's "letters to the editor" And cheatin' on our taxes... It's the best that we can do. --Steve Earle, Amerika v6.0 (The Best We Can Do) Jerusalem
L
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