I'm enjoying the respectful exchanges between Miller and William,very
much.
amndo
On Jan 18, 2009, at 10:18 AM, William Conger wrote:
I agree that there are different degrees and types of
sentimentality. Sentimentality that is immersed in myth is the bad
sort. Sentimentality rooted in values and human perseverance in
reality is the good sort. The shades from myth to values and
reality are finely graduated. For instance I am deeply sentimental
about the heroism of people like Miller's father who, he said,
earned the Distinguished Flying Cross for his WWII flights. I knew
a flyer of that era who survived his 24 missions intact over
Germany and I remember his moving narratives. I am a sentimental
baby when it comes to the basic American values in the Constitution
and Bill of Rights, etc., and the perseverance of early settlers
and townspeople. I deplore mythologizing of anything for the sake
of creating false history or worth, and that, unfortunately, is a
special American habit exercised with unembarrassed excess. So it's
true that we must be on guard all the time against slipping
from truth into myth, whether in art, history, or in daily life.
WC
--- On Sun, 1/18/09, Chris Miller <[email protected]> wrote:
... and what is "sentimentality" -- other than a
strong feeling that you do
not happen to share ?
