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Sigaba · 03-31-2009, 06:46

Chef Penn--

While I am also deeply concerned about contemporaneous events, I do not see many similarities between today's crises and our current political leadership and my understanding of the crises and political leadership in American and European history during the Interwar years (1919-1939). IMHO, many of the comparisons being offered do not consider sufficiently the geopolitical, political, social, ideological, technological, and, perhaps most importantly, cultural differences between then and now.*

This is not to say that things today are not bad and that they may get worse before they get better. Today, things suck spoiled Easter eggs. Those eggs are going to be sitting in a broken refrigerator on the back porch for quite a while. It is going to be egg salad sandwiches for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Desert will be Dozer's special recipe chocolate cookies.

But I don't see anarchy on the horizon. Nor do I see totalitarianism on a global or even continental scale. There is no theory of political economy that comes close to rivaling the imperfect practice democratic capitalism, even with all its shortfalls, flaws, inconsistencies, and contradictions.

What I see are the beached ships of the Achaeans. I see Agamemnon trying to convince himself that he's Franklin Roosevelt. I see Achilles preening for an Anne Liebowitz photo-shoot; Thetis, the original helicopter mom, is laying out his clothes. Where are the great tactician, the lord of the war cry, and the tamer of horses when you need them?

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* If I could pick only one book to make my case, it would be Ian Kershaw, The 'Hitler Myth'. Image and Reality in the Third Reich (1987) in which Kershaw meticulously lays out the political communication methods of the Hitler dictatorship. This book, one of the best works of history I've ever read, makes two points abundantly clear. First, twenty first century digital communications can not be manipulated efficiently enough to prevent a broader understanding of the rhetorical inconsistencies of a demagogue . Second, as evidenced by the 'guns and religion' comment, the current president is not disciplined enough as a speaker to stay on messages configured for specific audiences. That is, by the time they figured out that they'd made a deal with the enemy of the world who never intended to honor the bargain with anything other than the blood of the German people themselves, Berliners were huddled in shelters as Allied bombs crashed about their ears. By the time Americans figure out that they've been promised irreconcilable policies, the recession will have ebbed just enough to make some serious changes during the 2010 midterms.

03-31-2009, 06:46	#12
Sigaba Area Commander Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Southern California Posts: 4,482	Chef Penn-- While I am also deeply concerned about contemporaneous events, I do not see many similarities between today's crises and our current political leadership and my understanding of the crises and political leadership in American and European history during the Interwar years (1919-1939). IMHO, many of the comparisons being offered do not consider sufficiently the geopolitical, political, social, ideological, technological, and, perhaps most importantly, cultural differences between then and now.* This is not to say that things today are not bad and that they may get worse before they get better. Today, things suck spoiled Easter eggs. Those eggs are going to be sitting in a broken refrigerator on the back porch for quite a while. It is going to be egg salad sandwiches for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Desert will be Dozer's special recipe chocolate cookies. But I don't see anarchy on the horizon. Nor do I see totalitarianism on a global or even continental scale. There is no theory of political economy that comes close to rivaling the imperfect practice democratic capitalism, even with all its shortfalls, flaws, inconsistencies, and contradictions. What I see are the beached ships of the Achaeans. I see Agamemnon trying to convince himself that he's Franklin Roosevelt. I see Achilles preening for an Anne Liebowitz photo-shoot; Thetis, the original helicopter mom, is laying out his clothes. Where are the great tactician, the lord of the war cry, and the tamer of horses when you need them? __________________________________________________ * If I could pick only one book to make my case, it would be Ian Kershaw, The 'Hitler Myth'. Image and Reality in the Third Reich (1987) in which Kershaw meticulously lays out the political communication methods of the Hitler dictatorship. This book, one of the best works of history I've ever read, makes two points abundantly clear. First, twenty first century digital communications can not be manipulated efficiently enough to prevent a broader understanding of the rhetorical inconsistencies of a demagogue . Second, as evidenced by the 'guns and religion' comment, the current president is not disciplined enough as a speaker to stay on messages configured for specific audiences. That is, by the time they figured out that they'd made a deal with the enemy of the world who never intended to honor the bargain with anything other than the blood of the German people themselves, Berliners were huddled in shelters as Allied bombs crashed about their ears. By the time Americans figure out that they've been promised irreconcilable policies, the recession will have ebbed just enough to make some serious changes during the 2010 midterms.
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