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Saturday, Nov 7, 2009
mjwycha
Published Letters: 143 Editor's Choice: 22
In weaker moments I guess I too have been a little cynical about the prospects we have for our little experiment here. Our elected government is comprised of vicious thugs, and fear is rotting the soul of the citizenry. Perhaps the former poster is right (However I think that the smug and cynical stance he takes is a cop out. Oh how easy and small it is to be cool and cynical). What he doesn't seem to understand is that the great thing about America is not the reality of America, but the IDEA of America. The reality of America has always been violent and embarassing. But the idea of America has taken on something much larger than what is here in the United States. America is not in the Presidency, the congress, or even the heartland. It trandsends boundaries and and nationalities. It is the realization of the enlightenment. And that will never die.
Why do Yankee's fans boo the best player in baseball? I was reminded of a passage in Robert Persig's Lila about the conflicting influence of European and Native American cultures on the American character : "It's a peculiarly American phenomenon, to catapult people suddenly into celebrity, lavish praise and wealth upon them, and then, at the moment they at last become convinced of their worth, try to destroy them. (Phaedrus) thought that the reason was that in America you're supposed to be socially superior like a European and socially equal like an Indian at the same time. It doesn't matter that these goals are contradictory"(99).
Now, the hooey about trading A-Rod all stems from sports analysts having nothing better to do during the course of a long season but make cazy statements. Remember how Big Unit was "all washed up" a few months ago? Before last year's All Star break these same bozos were proclaiming the end of Tom Glavine. If D. Ortiz goes 0 for tonight these guys will have in depth discussions about how the magic is gone, and how he is a failure as a clutch hitter.
This guy is like the G.W.Bush of comedy. The sad thing is that he would probably see that as some sort of compliment. Man, I miss Mitch Hedberg.
I agree that Drew's attempt was probably a good idea: Lo Duca had his back to the third base line while applying the tag to Kent, and was unaware that Drew was coming home. The only reason Lo was able to tag out Drew was because Maine, backing up Lo Duca, alerted him to Drew's approach. It may seem obvious for Maine to do this, but I have seen many defensive "non-communications" result in a pay-off for the offensive team. For example, a few innings later Met's second basemen, Jose Valintin, tried to turn an impossible double play. He should have gone for the sure out at first. Someone should have been screaming at Jose, as he was coming up with the ball, to throw to first. Anyway, Maine is the reason that the Dodgers failed at the plate. A minor heads up play by the young pitcher.
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
The Maine fight was supposed to be the dress rehearsal for repealing California's Prop. 8 -- but gay marriage lost
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
Salon headlines in your mailbox
