Sad as hell and not taking it any more
Karl D. writes:
There are days such as this when I have to turn off my computer and television and avert my eyes from the newspapers. Otherwise I might have a mental breakdown. I just learned today that several of my relatives were liquidated in the Warsaw Ghetto and in Treblinka by the Nazis. The unending stories of the black and Muslim Intifada against whites and Jews along with the utter cognitive dissonance of both liberals and conservatives is too much to bear. On days such as this, I have to turn to the beauty in life that still remains pure and untouched. I find Beethoven, the Bible and a flip through my book of the masters of Western art is the order of the day. I really don’t know how you deal with all these depressing topics day after day. Doesn’t your psyche cry out “enough” after a while?
LA replies:
Yes, sometimes I get very discouraged. But, for the most part, somehow I experience these topics in a way that, while I feel them, they don’t go all the way down to my center, and so they don’t completely get to me.
However, the conservative collapse on the homosexuals in the military issue has discouraged me more than any past issue I can think of. I have always combined my severe criticisms of the mainstream conservatives with praise for them and expressions of solidarity with them when they have taken worthwhile stands. But after this near-total collapse, and, worse, indifference, in the face of a major leftward victory, I feel I can’t believe in the conservative movement any more at all. It has no credibility. It’s an empty shell. And that is forcing me to re-think some things.
Amit G. (who may be genuine or may be a conservative wag pretending to be a third world immigrant, I truly don’t know) writes:
You feel very discouraged at times my friend but all is not slipping down the drain. No, they younger generation will support you with our cheer and optimism. Remeber the whole idea of America is moving forward to the goodness we all share and have inside of us. This was the basis for the election of Obama that we could go ahead, everyone in the same boat, down the same road.
Alan M. writes:
Unfortunately, I expected the apparent collapse because, unlike many other issues covered here, there has been little apparent attempt to argue this issue from anywhere in the conservative world other than your blog.
My bet is that most conservatives (and by most, I mean 99.999%, have never heard a principled argument against gays serving in the military or any other issue around the gay rights movement. They probably can’t even imagine there is one and hence acquiesce. The sole argument put forward is from a source that has been largely discredited in polite society—the Christian religion.
I think you are right that this is a major shift in the civilizational fault line that is liberalism. However despair will not help solve it and I applaud you for showing up here every day along with the readers of this blog. It is we who can start to push back and it is as easy as letting people know there is an argument that speaks to the truth of the matter.
January 8
Kathlene M. writes:
In times like these, I can only think of Bob Dylan’s song “Everything is Broken” form Oh Mercy (1989), one of my favorite albums. One line in particular strikes me:
“People bending broken rules”
The original song actually has an upbeat tempo which is quite contrary to the lyrics. Since I cannot find the original on youtube, I’ve included a link to an anonymous reworked acoustic version of this song which is less upbeat but quite good. (This version by RLBurnside is more like the original.)
Everything is Broken (1989)
Bob Dylan
Broken lines broken strings
Broken threads broken springs
Broken idols broken heads
People sleeping in broken beds
Ain’t no use jiving
Ain’t no use joking
Everything is broken.
Broken bottles broken plates
Broken switches broken gates
Broken dishes broken parts
Streets are filled with broken hearts
Broken words never meant to be spoken
Everything is broken.
Seem like every time you stop and turn around
Something else just hit the ground
Broken cutters broken saws
Broken buckles broken laws
Broken bodies broken bones
Broken voices on broken phones
Take a deep breath feel like you’re chokin’
Everything is broken.
Everytime you leave and go off someplace
Things fall to pieces in my face
Broken hands on broken ploughs
Broken treaties broken vows
Broken pipes broken tools
People bending broken rules
Hound dog howling bullfrog croaking
Everything is broken.
Posted by Lawrence Auster at January 07, 2011 02:35 PM | Send