Quote for the day -- gazing into the abyss
"You're probably afflicted by the same despair: a painfully desperate but hopeless groping for rhetorical precision. How does one find words that convey the illimitable repugnance one feels each time modern conservatism makes itself known? I sense the presence of an abyss, a monstrous darkness, an almost occult vortex of immeasurable ignorance and unthinking malice. It's as though I see the GOP stalking and myself stalking behind, yet when I catch up to it, when I reach the predator, it is but a mist -- a disembodied, ungrippable haze of beastly malevolence and wanton stupidity; a kind of violent blankness."
P M Carpenter
P M Carpenter
posted by Infidel753 at 6:24 PM
8 Comments:
It is wanton selfishness disguised as some noble sense of freedom and independence. They do not realize that their policies promote neither freedom nor independence.
Outside of conservatism, I feel the abyss, conclusions drawn from excitement, popularity trumping facts and the worth of ideals presented as more than the worth of lives.
That just came out of me after reading the quote.
Thanks for letting me vent, Infidel.
All the best,
Woody
"...an almost occult vortex of immeasurable ignorance and unthinking malice.
Perfect description of where the modern GOP is today. One only has to look at the person who's the leader of the pack. Trump has not talked in rational terms about any policy he'd implement as president, only threats of what he'd do, while not having a clue about the limits of presidential power. And yet the immeasurably ignorant and unthinking malicious right wing believe Trump is going to lead them to greatness.
They have learned nothing since John McCain foisted that other wanton stupidity on the American people in 2008.
"wanton stupidity" is the name of the game. People want to elect their own.
Thanks for linking to p m carpenter's blog. Thanks to you, my reading list has expanded greatly.
Speaking of Nietzche and abysses, when you stare into this abyss, does it also stare back at you, or is it too self-absorbed to even notice?
Jerry: They only mean "freedom" from the tyranny of needing to recognize others as equals.
Woody: the worth of ideals presented as more than the worth of lives -- that's always frightening. Perhaps you've read Robert Anton Wilson on the subject.
Shaw/Jerry: Trump appeals to them so much because he best represents them -- a vulgar bigot who believes all limitations, including those of reality itself, can be overcome just by shouting and threatening.
Pinku: In this case it's more like staring into a toilet. It's too self-absorbed to stare back much.
Carpenter bashes Hillary a bit too much for my taste (and he had some weird feud going with Stonekettle Station for a while), but he's a good writer and often worth reading.
This was a great find. I know we all feel exactly like this on an almost daily basis, but I've rarely heard it said so well.
It says a lot about modern Republicans that you practically have to reach for Nietzsche or Lovecraft allusions to describe them adequately.
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