[Austin-ghetto-list] new yorker

[Frances Morey]

When Bill Maher uttered the same sentiment over the air waves, about courage
not being attached to bombing from the sky by our military his show,
"Politically Incorrect", is now threatened with cancellation. Since the
"stink" was raised by a blathering reactionary Houston talk radio host maybe
Larry King could pen a play, yes, a musical even, "The Best Little Talk Show
in America is Over," to the tune of "Fall-time for WTC and America."
Frances


On Tue, 25 Sep 2001 18:50:53 EDT, StepCher@aol.com wrote:

>  The New Yorker, September 24, 2001
>  The Talk of the Town:  (Susan Sontag)
>  
>  The disconnect between last Tuesday's monstrous dose of reality and the
>  self-righteous drivel and outright deceptions being peddled by public
>  figures and TV commentators is startling, depressing. The voices licensed
to
>  follow the event seem to have joined together in a campaign to
infantilize
>  the public. Where is the acknowledgment that this was not a "cowardly"
>  attack on "civilization" or "liberty" or "humanity" or "the free world"
but
>  an attack on the world's self-proclaimed superpower, undertaken as a
>  consequence of specific American alliances and actions? How many citizens
>  are aware of the ongoing American bombing of Iraq? And if the word
>  "cowardly" is to be used, it might be more aptly applied to those who
kill
>  from beyond the range of retaliation, high in the sky, than to those
willing
>  to die themselves in order to kill others. In the matter of courage (a
>  morally neutral virtue): whatever may be said of the perpetrators of
>  Tuesday's slaughter, they were not cowards.
>  
>  Our leaders are bent on convincing us that everything is O.K. America
>  is not afraid. Our spirit is unbroken, although this was a day that will
>  live in infamy and America is now at war. But everything is not O.K. And
>  this was not Pearl Harbor. We have a robotic President who assures us
that
>  America still stands tall. A wide spectrum of public figures, in and out
of
>  office, who are strongly opposed to the policies being pursued abroad by
>  this Administration apparently feel free to say nothing more than that
they
>  stand united behind President Bush. A lot of thinking needs to be done,
and
>  perhaps is being done in Washington and elsewhere, about the ineptitude
of
>  American intelligence and counter-intelligence, about options available
to
>  American foreign policy, particularly in the Middle East, and about what
>  constitutes a smart program of military defense. But the public is not
being
>  asked to bear much of the burden of reality. The unanimously applauded,
>  self-congratulatory bromides of a Soviet Party Congress seemed
contemptible.
>  The unanimity of the sanctimonious, reality-concealing rhetoric spouted
by
>  American officials and media commentators in recent days seems, well,
>  unworthy of a mature democracy.
>  
>  Those in public office have let us know that they consider their task
>  to be a manipulative one: confidence-building and grief management.
>  Politics, the politics of a democracy -- which entails disagreement,
which
>  promotes candor -- has been replaced by psychotherapy. Let's by all means
>  grieve together. But let's not be stupid together. A few shreds of
>  historical awareness might help us understand what has just happened, and
>  what may continue to happen. "Our country is strong," we are told again
and
>  again. I for one don't find this entirely consoling. Who doubts that
America
>  is strong? But that's not all America has to be.
>  
>  -Susan Sontag
>  


"The Skinny on Weight Loss: One Woman's 
True Journey to Fat and Back" by Frances Morey
Order online <www.xlibris.com/bookstore>
or by phone at 1-888-795-4274 Extension #276





_______________________________________________________
Send a cool gift with your E-Card
http://www.bluemountain.com/giftcenter/