Bushbots and the fantasy Other
Peter G. writes:
Wonder if the clash of civilizations will be accidental rather than deliberate. Our elite’s solipsism will never permit an authentic Other. The current Other is a fantasy prop. We’re part of a generation where the majority have successfully lived by desire alone, why would anyone think that would stop?
Some aspects of fear can be conceptualized but not simulated. Fear of surrendering your will is an experience not an idea, by either being preyed upon by dangerous humans or defending yourself against them. As you’ve stated before, until enough people have that kind of fear impelling them to action nothing is likely to change on the social landscape. What do our elites fear most? That ordinary Americans will experience real fear and demand escalating action other than just the U.S. Armed Forces being at war.
LA replies:
“The current Other is a fantasy prop.”
This perfectly captures the psychology of the Bush administration and the mainstream conservatives. They love to imagine that they are bravely busting down the barriers of PC. They love to imagine they’re in a war and they beat their chests. But the moment you question whether this “war” is real and speak about what the requirements of a real war would be, e.g., treating the Other as the Other and the enemy as the enemy, they turn silent and disappear on you, as if you had committed some unforgivable faux pax, or had begun singing in Hungarian.
And so they continue their fantasy war on the fantasy Other. And the result, as with other phony conservatisms, is that they end up with the worst of both worlds: they get the downside of conservatism, namely being seen as “mean” and “hateful,” without the benefit of conservatism, namely preserving our civilization.
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James R. writes:
Peter G. writes: “Some aspects of fear can be conceptualized but not simulated. Fear of surrendering your will is an experience not an idea, by either being preyed upon by dangerous humans or defending yourself against them. As you’ve stated before, until enough people have that kind of fear impelling them to action nothing is likely to change on the social landscape.”
This reminded me of the response of a Houston businesswoman to Katrina refugees:
“I always hated guns and would never touch one. I could not understand the mindset of the women I knew in Houston who not only owned and handled guns but drove around town with one in the car. But never is a word we should not use. Six months ago, with my blessing, my husband bought a gun and went, with our 23-year-old daughter, to a class to learn how to use it, clean it and learn the laws that go with it. After another recent murder, I now have one too, although it still freaks me out.”
Posted by Lawrence Auster at September 01, 2006 05:44 PM | Send