I think it very interesting that George Will, betrayed by his rambling, bumbling, incoherent, almost nonsensical prose as having dipped his lizard tongue into a few dozen too many G&Ts before putting pen to papyrus chooses a verse by Philip Larkin, of all poets, as an epigraph to an essay on free will and self-control. Larkin rather more famously observed:
They fuck you up, your mum and dad.But, yes, "skepticism about free will . . . has become convenient and soothing." Soothing!
They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.
But they were fucked up in their turn
By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
And half at one another's throats.
Man hands on misery to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
And don't have any kids yourself.
The idea that America was a society of clenched-jaw, New-England Protestant restraint until right around the time the Beatles debarked from that airplane is quite simply the looniest idea ever written, erased, recalled, written, erased, remembered, rewritten, ad inf. on the disintegrating palimpsest of this dumb nation's fictional historical palimpsests.
45 comments:
"Even families have dispersed within the home: Time was, they listened to one radio together; then came the transistor."
Papa could uncross mama's legs any time he damn well pleased without the government sticking its nose in.
Some of America is still clench-jawed Puritan. This hedonist knows from personal experience.
under perfect circumstances, willpower is easy!
also: "affluent people, for whom food is a relatively minor expense, are less likely than poor people to be obese. Surely this has something to do with habits of self-control that are conducive to social success generally."
what a dick.
i havent give up on my resolution yet, which is to urinate on george wills grave, on reagans birthday, every year. hurry up and die george.
he chose a Larkin poem because for Will, History stopped in the mid 80's. and so did Larkin.
With an attitude like that, it is no wonder that he didn't get into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
With a face like that, he may yet get into the HOF-- as a baseball.
palimpsest----the very Gore Vidal of it all!
If A Midwife's Tale is any indication, back when families were huddling around whale oil lanterns instead of Victrolas, a lot of kids managed to have premarital nookie without living in Haight-Ashbury.
Since that diary was written around the time of the Revolution, I have to assume that Will is pining for the days of witch burning. That's the kind of shit that'll produce self-control.
Fauxstalgia. How does it work?
With all due respect, this article deserves a much more thorough going-over than you've given.
For instance, he diagnoses America's the opposing values of America's consumer/producer personalities as bipolar. Yo, say what you want about the tenets of psychology as a valid science, but personality splits are not classified as bipolar.
Then he comes up with his notion about how wealthier people are not as obese as poor people and ascribes this to a greater amount of self-control on their part, as opposed to the fact that rich people can shop at whole foods and poor people can afford to eat at McDonald's. He also betrays his bias that wealthy people are so because of innate superiority and virtue. And he doesn't refer to financial wealth as business success, but social success.
And so on.
Perfect! The foolish belief that human beliefs are novel to our generation hacked apart as if it's a belief novel to our generation! God, I know I miss the point sometimes, but when I "get" the irony of your posts, it really does make it all worth it.
While it's not all that unusual to find that a person doesn't really understand what irony is, it's a pretty rare day when you find a native speaker who gets confused by sometimes.
First, America was transformed from a nation of want into one of wants. Then the 1960s repudiated restraint, equating it with repression. Next, inflation in the 1970s discouraged delay of gratification.
I can't tell if Will is channeling Jesse Jackson, Malcolm X, or Doctor Seuss here. "From want to wants... repudiate restraint, equate; discourage delay, repression, inflation, gratification!" Testify, brother.
The looniest idea ever written? IOZ, it's common knowledge that sexual intercourse began in 1963, a little before the Beatles' first LP.
affluent people, for whom food is a relatively minor expense, are less likely than poor people to be obese. Surely this has something to do with habits of self-control that are conducive to social success generally
No, George, ya feckin eejit, this has something to do with the fact that poor people consume more food because other sources of enjoyment are out of their price range.
@8:46
no. have you ever shopped for groceries at a "Box n Save ? what is avaiable at prices that poor people can afford is canned and frozen processed carbohydrate bombs (white bread, peanut butter and jelly, bags of frozen overporecessed potato products, gallons of sweetened juice and soft drinks). These foods can be had in bulk very very cheap. eating healthy fresh food is not an option for the poor.Bear in mind, thats just the poor who have access to a discount grocery store. In detroit, for instance, there ARE NO grocery stores,there are only cheap bodagas, whos selection is 200% worse.
to the douchebag who made the absurd commet about the wealthy "having more self control and dicipline" i have only two things to say. 1. the revolution IS coming. 2. I hope one of the upper east side married whores i have been fucking is your daughter. i havent noticed she has much "self restraint".
Thank you IOZ. for making me aware of the Larkin piece. I'm almost afraid to say I didn't know it as to be called a phillistine by anonymous pedant. Good times...
George Will... He sounds like a white guy.. And probably looks much shorter on TV
Прикольная статья, узнал много полезного. Сейчас читаю другие публикации
Неплохо написали, нашел для себя много интересного. Продолжайте в том же духе
Мне понравился ваш блог, прочитал массу интересных статей, спасибо!
Статья полезная и приятно изложена, большое спасибо за дополнительный материал!
Интересно написано, но желательно дополнить статью
Ваш блог мне очень понравился, только допишите эту статью
Отличная статья, напишите еще на эту тему, буду с нетерпением ждать
Интересная стратья, узнал для себя несколько новых вещей, щас буду разбираться, в дальнейшем отпигшусь
Хороший у вас блог, дизайн очень понравился, со временем будет мощный блог
ну да, блог мне тоже очень понравился, уже частенько захожу
Статья очень поучительная, будет полезна особенно новичкам
Статья очень поучительная, будет полезна особенно новичкам
Статья отличная, но советую дополнить материалом, будет больше полезна!
Мне очень понравился ваш блог, особенно дизайн, хочу себе на сайт такой же
Согласе с мнениями многих, статья очень познавательная, прочитав узнал много нового!
Допишите эту статью, то до отличного материала не дотягивает
Блого просто супер, всем советую, непожалеете
Да, почитал вашу статью и был приятно удивлен написанным, мне статья понравилась. Пишите и развивайтесь дальше
интересненько. Статья вовсе неплохо написана
Да, после прочтения, я просто поражаюсь как все это бывает
Полностью согласен с предыдущими комментариями
супер как понравился ваш блог, высокого вам развития
I stumbled across your site, and I think that your advise works for everyone, young at art or not! I especially loved the part about understanding what music has to do with your art.thank you!
Статья очень понравилась, узнал много полезного, буду пробовать осуществить на практике
Что то статей не много, лучше добавьте, а так блог нормальный
не много статей, советую регулярно добавять, а так в общем блог интересный
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