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Mar. 20th, 2012
Sylvia gives us another extended entry on a big date, this one with Bob. We will break it up into bite-sized parts, and here is part one.
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Just a few notes on a night that marks another stage in growing up: this time there was no pain, no passion, no hurt. Inside of me there was a core of self-possession. I have to hold on to this night, for in three days I’ll be plunged into a new world, and there’ll be confusion, dilemmas, as I fight to find the right equilibrium for myself again. But tonight I was in command of the whole situation.
-- Sylvia Plath Journals, 1950
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She is off to college in just a few days. Ah, the great expectations! I suppose most of us wind up disappointed, even traumatically so. At least Sylvia will also have her success.
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Just a few notes on a night that marks another stage in growing up: this time there was no pain, no passion, no hurt. Inside of me there was a core of self-possession. I have to hold on to this night, for in three days I’ll be plunged into a new world, and there’ll be confusion, dilemmas, as I fight to find the right equilibrium for myself again. But tonight I was in command of the whole situation.
-- Sylvia Plath Journals, 1950
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She is off to college in just a few days. Ah, the great expectations! I suppose most of us wind up disappointed, even traumatically so. At least Sylvia will also have her success.
three cats dozing together
Mar. 20th, 2012 05:43 pmAll three cats dozing together on the ottoman by the window. I would be hard pressed to think of another sight that inspires feelings of contentment and love.
Thinking about how nice it might be to snap a picture of them and share it, it occurs to me that the picture could not capture a fraction of my feeling. It's a drabby scene in a drabby house. You really do have to live it.
Thinking about how nice it might be to snap a picture of them and share it, it occurs to me that the picture could not capture a fraction of my feeling. It's a drabby scene in a drabby house. You really do have to live it.
Voter Ignorance
Mar. 20th, 2012 09:52 pmDavid Weigel makes an interesting argument for liberals who are frustrated by the clear misbeliefs of pro-Republican voters.
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Most voter ignorance, if it was cured by logic and reason and long sessions of NPR, would be replaced by the same voter preferences, justified in different ways. There are Mississippi Republicans who hate Obama because they think he’s a Muslim. Take that away, and they’ll hate him because they’re conservatives and he isn’t. Only 11 percent of Mississippi whites voted for Barack Obama, but only 14 percent voted for John Kerry. These aren’t people who’ll change their minds if they fully grokked the president’s bio.
That is why ignorant voters don’t get to swing a presidential election.
-- David Weigel
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I am not so sure about that. I think we could take it another level. Why should a poor white person vote for Republicans who will only pass pro-plutocratic laws? I think race still gets in the picture. Weigel points out that only 14 percent of Mississippi whites voted for white Kerry, but the thing is, they voted against Kerry in overwhelming numbers because they understood his policies to be pro-black, even if he was not black himself. Obama just sort of makes the case clearer for them.
I would even extend my argument onto religious issues, which are playing an even more prominent role during this campaign cycle. When it comes to the narrow literalism of the Bible, and the insistence on using the law to enforce such substantive beliefs on non-believers, I would argue that this is less about faith and more about ignorance. To be absolutely clear, I am not saying that faith is ignorance, but only that faith does not absolve one of ignorance.
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Most voter ignorance, if it was cured by logic and reason and long sessions of NPR, would be replaced by the same voter preferences, justified in different ways. There are Mississippi Republicans who hate Obama because they think he’s a Muslim. Take that away, and they’ll hate him because they’re conservatives and he isn’t. Only 11 percent of Mississippi whites voted for Barack Obama, but only 14 percent voted for John Kerry. These aren’t people who’ll change their minds if they fully grokked the president’s bio.
That is why ignorant voters don’t get to swing a presidential election.
-- David Weigel
_ _ _
I am not so sure about that. I think we could take it another level. Why should a poor white person vote for Republicans who will only pass pro-plutocratic laws? I think race still gets in the picture. Weigel points out that only 14 percent of Mississippi whites voted for white Kerry, but the thing is, they voted against Kerry in overwhelming numbers because they understood his policies to be pro-black, even if he was not black himself. Obama just sort of makes the case clearer for them.
I would even extend my argument onto religious issues, which are playing an even more prominent role during this campaign cycle. When it comes to the narrow literalism of the Bible, and the insistence on using the law to enforce such substantive beliefs on non-believers, I would argue that this is less about faith and more about ignorance. To be absolutely clear, I am not saying that faith is ignorance, but only that faith does not absolve one of ignorance.