tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812366260875678630.post1805538151998503524..comments2024-02-01T22:39:49.779+13:00Comments on Bigger Than Ben Hur: Let's Talk about TJ (with apologies to Lionel Shriver)Ben Hurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08367615722744097913noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812366260875678630.post-51141113477124596452013-04-03T17:54:33.591+13:002013-04-03T17:54:33.591+13:00Thank you both for your erudite comments.Thank you both for your erudite comments.Ben Hurhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08367615722744097913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812366260875678630.post-53136793256076459222013-04-03T17:51:57.088+13:002013-04-03T17:51:57.088+13:00Thank you both for your erudite comments.Thank you both for your erudite comments.Ben Hurhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08367615722744097913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812366260875678630.post-46520757539448286432013-04-01T19:22:52.884+13:002013-04-01T19:22:52.884+13:00Modernity, it seems to me, is always anachronistic...Modernity, it seems to me, is always anachronistic. It either comes too early or not soon enough, depending on your affiliation. If we indict America and its gunslinging greatness (land of my soul), we must include its bible-thumping theocrats and their war against the devil. <br /><br />Americans are dreamers, optimists, and the country will find its way; but any enactment of an ideal -- be it the laws of heaven, or a utopia of free gold (with Miwok Indians buried beneath my childhood) -- any enforcement of a dream will lead to an abstraction of cruelty and violence. <br /><br />There are bullets in independence. Just as there's obesity in the abattoir. Or terror in precision bombing. Or the inevitable recruitment of children in a war against an abstraction (like "evil"). Worst of all, it's the children, so fresh to life, who offer the only mirror unblemished enough for us to distinguish the stains of our madness. But in looking in their eyes, we introduce them to our image. -ZZireauxhttp://zireaux.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812366260875678630.post-89646018216098915232013-03-31T12:44:45.281+13:002013-03-31T12:44:45.281+13:00The urgency with which conservatives rely on rheto...The urgency with which conservatives rely on rhetoric going back to 2nd amendment rights is both farcical and contemptible. You're so right to point out how anachronistic this argument it. But it persists and is as deeply rooted as the American Dream -- also a farce. A horrid thing, this tendency toward violence, and the constant justification we hear over and over from mainstream politicians and celebrity figures who insist it's part of being a true American. Could not agree more with your post. And your inclusion of Donne. Michelle Elvyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00503119577895402738noreply@blogger.com