Thursday, December 30, 2010

Nice Quote: The Can't-Do Nation - NYTimes.com

The Can't-Do Nation - NYTimes.com: "What’s truly wimpy is telling everyone to go to the mall and shop while putting two wars on the credit card and committing countless lives to mortal danger. This advice by then-President George W. Bush gave the majority of the country no reason to sacrifice — just chant “U.S.A.!” and wave some flags." Timothy Egan

1 comment:

Dale said...

It really is remarkable, this transformation. I'm something like 90 years old -- give or take five decades, or thereabouts -- so I've witnessed this country go from Very Forward-Looking and Optimistic to the Point of Naivety to We Can't Do Shit About Shit in a short space of time. Somewhere along the way, "we can't" got folded into right-wing propaganda, and of course, that which enters the canons of right-wing propaganda becomes thoroughly entrenched.

Of course, it is highly selective, this "can't do" nostrum -- we can't do schools or health care or energy policy that makes sense or anything about the declining middle class, even as we most certainly can win every single war we even dream up without ever having to pay for it -- but that's ideology for you.