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Is everything spinning out of control?In the 1990s, Americans viewed the end of the Cold War as "the end of history," and the beginning of an era of unlimited global prosperity. This wasn't the first expectation of utopia to be shattered--those who claimed to see the 'inevitable progress of man' at the start of the 20th Century were disabused by the First World War. It reminds me of the parable of the overconfident farmer and the barns.
Midwestern levees are bursting. Polar bears are adrift. Gas prices are skyrocketing. Home values are abysmal. Air fares, college tuition and health care border on unaffordable. Wars without end rage in Iraq, Afghanistan and against terrorism.
The can-do, bootstrap approach embedded in the American psyche is under assault. Eroding it is a dour powerlessness that is chipping away at the country's sturdy conviction that destiny can be commanded with sheer courage and perseverance.
It seems we would learn to limit our faith in ourselves. In thousands of years of recorded history, Man has yet to achieve paradise. Some of our efforts run well for a while, but the dynamics of a self-centered, sinful world always catch up sooner or later. In such times, people look for "anointed ones" to save us from our excesses and folly. In doing so, we find yet another idol to worship. For a time. Those wise enough to see the silliness of such worship are often left only with a shrug of "what can you do?"
A feeling of "dour powerlessness," can be profitable, however...
3 comments:
Be careful when you quote from the Associated Press. to quote small portions of their stories. They're doing it by asserting that you don't have that freedom, and by implicit threats of legal action. But don't worry, is taking them on.
What on earth happened to my markup there? What I meant to say was this:
Be careful when you quote from the Associated Press. They're trying to take away your freedom to quote small portions of their stories. They're doing it by asserting that you don't have that freedom, and by implicit threats of legal action. But don't worry, TechCrunch is taking them on.
Thanks for the caution. I've been following the AP controversy. If a pull quote to facilitate critique and discussion no longer falls under Fair Use, I think we have a LOT to be concerned about.
Not trying to pick a fight with them, per se, but nobody I know died and bequeathed the AP control of public discussions.
Thanks for stopping by -- hope to see you again soon.
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