tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8695598.post3066146254624656410..comments2023-12-17T19:35:07.459-08:00Comments on Bouphonia: A Call for Political ClarificationPhilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15849261651028725772noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8695598.post-5640435589133361682009-06-19T13:12:52.695-07:002009-06-19T13:12:52.695-07:00In a perfect world devoid of constricting self-awa...In a <i>perfect world</i> devoid of constricting self-awareness, <b>, Sounding Like Jonah Goldberg</b> with be the title of a very bad Adam Sandler movie.Jazzbumpahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07337490817307473659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8695598.post-6787023679026953072009-06-19T09:07:41.533-07:002009-06-19T09:07:41.533-07:00Here again, you'd fail to replicate Jonah in t...<i>Here again, you'd fail to replicate Jonah in that you'd have made a point.</i><br /><br />Further proof that I'm not a member in good standing of <a href="http://bouphonia.blogspot.com/2006/08/hard-america.html" rel="nofollow">Hard America</a>.Philahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15849261651028725772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8695598.post-34753785447620323562009-06-19T03:54:09.103-07:002009-06-19T03:54:09.103-07:00You'd only sound like Goldberg the younger if ...You'd only sound like Goldberg the younger if you'd referenced the Star Trek episode that best illustrates your point. Here again, you'd fail to replicate Jonah in that you'd have made a point.Jay Schiavonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04575283403103183391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8695598.post-53826596818823959172009-06-18T22:44:20.575-07:002009-06-18T22:44:20.575-07:00At the risk of sounding utterly daft, maybe we'...<i><br />At the risk of sounding utterly daft, maybe we're dealing to some extent with the difference between linear and cyclical time: </i><br /><br />God help me...I just realized that I sound like Jonah Goldberg!<br /><br />Talk about constricting self-awareness....Philahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15849261651028725772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8695598.post-58074361099481627692009-06-18T21:54:54.606-07:002009-06-18T21:54:54.606-07:00right wingers can't make fun of themselves bec...right wingers can't make fun of themselves because they are mentally ill people whose politics derives from a desperate effort to shore up their own sense of dignity.<br /><br />On the other hand, people like openleft's paul rosenberg, who could have been using this recipe assiduously over the last 3 years, probably don't find it funny either.rootless-enoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8695598.post-64065107067951103842009-06-18T21:45:36.446-07:002009-06-18T21:45:36.446-07:00It's funny, but... why can't the right mak...<i>It's funny, but... why can't the right make fun of themselves? </i><br /><br />The glib answer would be that authoritarians can't afford to make jokes about themselves for fear of breaking whatever spell they're trying to cast. I don't think that really explains it, though. <br /><br />I think there's a particular left-wing pathos that this piece reflects -- which I often catch myself lapsing into -- that's based on a recognition of past failure, and an expectation of continued failure; it encourages a sort of gallows humor. I don't think that attitude is as common on the right, which tends to interpret almost everything as at least a prospective victory. <br /><br />At the risk of sounding utterly daft, maybe we're dealing to some extent with the difference between linear and cyclical time: a lot of people on the right seem to see themselves as moving towards an apotheosis and settling of accounts; a lot of people on the left seem to see things going 'round and 'round (God knows I do). Which may possibly give them a somewhat deeper sense of the absurd. <br /><br />Self-critical left-wing humor tends to be a little melancholy...I know mine does, anyway. And it is constricting, in a way. Or symptomatic of being constricted, maybe. <br /><br />That said, I've certainly known lots of leftists who have absolutely no sense of humor about themselves. As does the author of this piece, evidently....Philahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15849261651028725772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8695598.post-38479681186051552942009-06-18T19:29:04.116-07:002009-06-18T19:29:04.116-07:00It's funny, but... why can't the right mak...It's funny, but... why can't the right make fun of themselves? Self-awareness is empowering, yet oddly constricting. I guess this means Obama really is a socialist. The movie "Eat the Rich" covers similar ground, also lampoons the right, and is really funny. Fittingly, a number called "The Hangover" now provides the big cinema laughs.Jay Schiavonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04575283403103183391noreply@blogger.com