|
|
|
February 15, 2005
Democracy = Terrorism
I'm almost hesitant to do this because it seems cruel, but wade through the awkward prose of this piece on tyranny and idiocy if you've the stomach. It's got all the makings of an undergraduate essay: politics filtered through poets (bonus points for non-Anglo-Americans), tangential connections and sweeping generalizations, poor grasp of grammar and syntax, a fiercely leftist and delusional moral message ... I thought I was reading Judith Butler for a minute there. But there really is an odd sort of delight in watching Syed Fattahul Alim clomp along from his patron poets fighting tyranny and fascism with all their attendant idiocy to this: Of late tyranny has changed its form and so also has idiocy. Tyranny is now dished out in democratic garb, while idiocy through a new brand of terrorism. And what is the dominant discourse of power? It is the discourse of democratic universal market-globalisation, which is bent on bulldozing the entire world into a global monoculture of conformity. Democracy is the new tyranny! Freedom is oppression! C'mon, guys! It's just not their way. That's not a new idea to the left, which for years has thought (in its subtly racist way) that democracy is merely a 'western' notion not to 'imposed' on people who are much more entertaining in colorful rags and exotic brands of dictatorship. But we have finally found in Mr. Alim the poet of our age who might speak out eloquently against democracy and terrorism which are, afterall, virtually the same (remember: democracy = oppression now): Cruelty or oppression and idiocy are nothing but different sides of the same coin. Now, I probably shouldn't be so critical of the piece. Afterall, it does appear in the Financial Express of Bangladesh. According to its About Us page, The Financial Express and its team are applauded by all. I certainly wouldn't want to make liars of them. I too hope "there will be knowledge-based society." posted by Dennis on 02.15.05 at 12:06 PM
Comments
Ain't you guys read your Marcuse? EssEm · February 15, 2005 07:10 PM Changing idiocy is something I've never heard of. J. Peden · February 15, 2005 09:42 PM Herbert Marcuse (the intellectual father of Political Correctness) in a nutshell: "Freedom is Slavery" And, with that, the converse: "Slavery is Freedom" Steven Malcolm Anderson (Cato theElder) the Lesbian-worshipping man's-man-admiring myth-based egoist · February 15, 2005 10:59 PM I remember sitting through a fairly small chat EssEm · February 16, 2005 02:40 AM I think James Bovard was on to democracy with his two wolves and sheep comment. billy-jay · February 16, 2005 10:32 AM Billy-Jay: I agree with that. The United States of America was founded to be a Constitutional republic (individual rights protected by limited government), not a democracy (majority rule). That's what we should be promoting abroad as well as restoring here at home. Steven Malcolm Anderson (Cato theElder) the Lesbian-worshipping man's-man-admiring myth-based egoist · February 16, 2005 02:31 PM Re: Bovard That's a cute quote, but it doesn't hold. Two wolves and a sheep are not a deme. Simply put, democracy only exists when the government is (essentially or actually) the people as a whole. Factions acting against the interests of other factions destroy its very spirit, and hence mob rule is anything but democracy. America, though, is still a democracy and is in no real danger of becoming anything else. There are stark differences among utopias, dystopias, and the real world. Dennis · February 16, 2005 08:10 PM I see that you are parotting David Horowitz. I always regret visiting this site. You make me want to fucking puke. Instafaggot · February 21, 2005 05:27 PM Instahomophobe, I'm not even sure who David Horowitz is, so 'parotting' [sic] isn't possible. Dennis · February 21, 2005 08:17 PM |
|
March 2007
WORLD-WIDE CALENDAR
Search the Site
E-mail
Classics To Go
Archives
March 2007
February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 May 2002 See more archives here Old (Blogspot) archives
Recent Entries
• War For Profit
• How trying to prevent genocide becomes genocide • I Have Not Yet Begun To Fight • Wind Boom • Isaiah Washington, victim • Hippie Shirts • A cunning exercise in liberation linguistics? • Sometimes unprincipled demagogues are better than principled activists • PETA agrees -- with me! • The high pitched squeal of small carbon footprints
Links
Site Credits
|
|
And there I went thinking Jeff Daniels was the sidekick in "Dumb & Dumber," when it was Syed Fattahul Alim all along!
That has to be one of the most cliched and ineffectual bits of "reality-based" thinking I've read.
Did you happen to catch his handle on the Democratic Underground