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Sep. 24th, 2008 01:44 pmI feel slightly less bad about the possibility of Obama losing, now that it's pretty much a given that the next guy will get to preside over the sort of recession that can't be hidden on paper. If Congress were Republican again it would be just plain fun to watch.
But that's facetious. Even after everything (well, everything to date), the Republicans poll consistently in the 40s. They're mastering more and more complex forms of indirection while the people get (trust me, they do get) stupider and stupider about everything. I'm not even sure a depression could change this meaningfully--most of us got way too rich. And that most of us didn't have to think about anything in order to thrive, for the longest time, it just did. A major depression or war requiring an actual draft might do something, but a lot of delicate institutions have been washed away or weakened in this tide of dehumanizing affluence.
Maybe there's an upside re. how many dumbass prejudices of the past we've tossed away? But I think even there it was the idiotizing influences that were mostly responsible--nutface religious zeal is at least an attempt at citizenship. Are people lukewarmer Christians because they got smart, or because they've gone tepid in general?
And the internet: world-sized debate chamber or world-sized pillow in which there's room for every one of us to curl up in a little nook of comfort and dream simple dreams, after work hours?
But that's facetious. Even after everything (well, everything to date), the Republicans poll consistently in the 40s. They're mastering more and more complex forms of indirection while the people get (trust me, they do get) stupider and stupider about everything. I'm not even sure a depression could change this meaningfully--most of us got way too rich. And that most of us didn't have to think about anything in order to thrive, for the longest time, it just did. A major depression or war requiring an actual draft might do something, but a lot of delicate institutions have been washed away or weakened in this tide of dehumanizing affluence.
Maybe there's an upside re. how many dumbass prejudices of the past we've tossed away? But I think even there it was the idiotizing influences that were mostly responsible--nutface religious zeal is at least an attempt at citizenship. Are people lukewarmer Christians because they got smart, or because they've gone tepid in general?
And the internet: world-sized debate chamber or world-sized pillow in which there's room for every one of us to curl up in a little nook of comfort and dream simple dreams, after work hours?
