Well, today is my birthday and my list of presents leaves me much to be grateful for. Suzanne gave me a wonderful edition of several Dashiel Hammett stories. We're also going to the Calgary symphony's presentation of Shostakovitch's symphony no. 10. "The pinnacle of Shostakovitch's’s creative power was his famous 10th Symphony. This fascinating work is exhilarating, reflective, violent and triumphant as it represents Shostakovitch's’s personal victory over the oppressive Stalinist regime." That this concert dovetails with my birthday is most fortunate.
My other present, this one from the universe, was the entry of Mitt Romney into the presidential race. What makes this so great is that he is a Mormon. Of course Mormons are completely repulsive to Baptists, the cornerstone of the American religious right so we can expect their critical examination of his Mormonism to be the irony of the century. Ostensibly, I think the christian right likens the Mormons to Aaron's golden calved brethren. The Mormons, 11 million strong, are the victims of a hilarious con man who was finally charged with fraud. The story of Joseph Smith and his founding of Mormonism reads like a Monty Python sketch with a healthy dose of Mark Twain and the fact that Mormonism is still around, and in such numbers is a mind-numbing confirmation of the stupidity of human kind superseded only by its uglier Christian sister. One who would be tempted to wonder how successful a candidate could possibly be when they profess to believe such silliness, need only witness the success of the Bush regime, whose beliefs are no less preposterous but believed by a majority. In any case, I look forward to the stupid cross-examining the foolish.
For those managing their portfolios, I would put a "sell" on bizarre rhetoric since the surplus in the coming year is sure to drive prices down.
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It has been my continuing experience that Americans are extremely trusting and gullible. They tend to take what one says to them at face value. This applies to religious nonsense. While this is endearing in a way, it is also very scary. And by scary, I mean scary for them.
Many times I have had to intervene in situations where I thought that an innocent American was getting a very bad deal or was about to get into a very difficult or dangerous situation due to their simple naivety. Not all are like this but a surprising amount are.
I cannot quite understand it but I believe it may actually tie in with their sense of entitlement. I see it among lefty hippy do-gooder types who believe that because they are in a place to do some good that they should be naturally immune to the normal chaos that surrounds the area. These poor people are chewed and fed to the dogs. It is related as well to their historic xenophobia and lack of knowledge about the world.
I could collect my thoughts into a post on my blog.
You know Mr. Daviditron (and Happy Birthday), with your pithy irony and magnificent metaphors and my ideas and experiences and our mutual appreciation for dry and morbid humour, we could make an effective editorial team!
Well, I am feeling sleepy now, my insomnia cured again by an hour of net surfing!
Cheers and Good Mental Health
(too tired to append pithy quote)
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