Comments on: Those Who Repeat the Past Have a Pretty Good Incentive to Forget it

By: David Lloyd-Jones

David Lloyd-Jones — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 22:05:40 +0000

The former cocaine-head American vs. the Hollywood obsessed Korean.

Two men with mad fascinations with weapons—though note that North Korea’s possession of an aircraft-carrier-killer is probably what has the whole question of the future of the Korean peninsula under heavy negotiation right now. In stark contrast to the situation in Iraq…

The always mendacious American vs. the sometimes slimy Korean.

I dunno. “Dear leader” looks like a rather tame slap at the George Bush, a man who, after all, is busily at work undermining all things American and good.

By: Crooked Timber » » Breath into a Paper Bag and Count to Ten, Slowly

Crooked Timber » » Breath into a Paper Bag and Count to Ten, Slowly — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 12:19:04 +0000

[...] A couple of days ago, in passing, I referred to the president of the United States at our Dear Leader. This has caused some hyperventillation. Just to clarify: The idea that the US and North Korea are in any way similar in polity or social structure never crossed my mind. [...]

By: abb1

abb1 — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 13:41:16 +0000

Why, I heard North Korea is also engaged in a titanic struggle against Evil. Just like the U.S. now.
Coincidence? I think not…

By: Christopher Phelps

Christopher Phelps — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 13:22:10 +0000

The prior two posters are right to point out the venting, but the venting is warranted. McLemee is merely engaging in the sigh of the depressed. His is therefore a useful expression of our condition. Watching a Presidential news conference, in which our press corps feigns the ritual seriousness of the occasion, in which a smirking, incoherent half-grown frat boy barely can pronounce the words on his prompt sheets, in which one yearns for Cheney and Rove to come out from behind the curtain and just let us have direct access to them instead of going through this idiot, is a very painful experience.

By: asg

asg — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 21:47:50 +0000

“Dear Leader”—right, right, Bush is like Kim Jong-il! That was really clever and subtle—great job of making the point that the U.S. and North Korea are, like, the same now.

By: M. Gordon

M. Gordon — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 21:07:03 +0000

Regarding this post (not the comments): I think this kind of speculative, mostly contentless jeering is a step down for the overall tone and quality of CT. I come for the thoughtful and insightful commentary. This kind of thing I could get at thismodernworld.com.

By: bi

bi — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 18:07:57 +0000

Guest: That quote isn’t really hubris, it’s an expression of “nyah nyah neener neener catch me if you can!” idea which, in a way, is indeed the reality of US politics—Dubya and friends do crazy things and spew meaningless words, and there’s nothing much anyone can do about it. However forcefully one says “no”, one can’t turn the “no” into reality, which to me is the key thing.

By: Guest

Guest — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 17:44:47 +0000

This goes right back to the Neocon remarks quoted by Ron Suskind in 2004: “”We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you’re studying that reality—judiciously, as you will—we’ll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that’s how things will sort out. We’re history’s actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.”

The point is not the hubris – the point is that people who take ideas seriously have a very hard time coping with people who use ideas like blunt instruments. Partly, it’s just human nature to make sense of things, even when they don’t make sense. We can’t help it. So the trouble with hearing and reading all of that bullshit over and over again is that it’s virtually impossible to say “no” forcefully enough each time. Look at where we’re at now – no one believes a word the President says, but no one does anything about it – as a direct result of the volume and depth of repetition of this Administration’s messages.

This, by the way, is a great example of the weakness of the “counterspeech” rationale in First Amendment studies.

By: sglover

sglover — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 13:56:14 +0000

Aw, c’mon. It can’t be any worse than slogging through the public words of, say, Czar Nicholas II or Warren Harding. Isn’t this the kind of crushing tedium for which the Deity created grad students?

By: Steven Poole

Steven Poole — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 12:58:54 +0000

I think the assumption that Bush's speeches are not "meaningful" is regrettable, and contributes to public apathy. At least, that's my excuse for wading through them.

By: Barry

Barry — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 11:30:49 +0000

Presumably, anybody covering political history down to the detailed level of individual speeches runs into mind-numbing repetition. In the case of this administration, it’ll fit right in with numerous other unpleasant governments’ incredible propaganda.