On Sun, Dec 7, 2008 at 4:53 PM, Carrol Cox <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Obama is a capitalist politician, and a principled ones. The problem is > with his principles, not with him personally.
I think that's fair. When I write something I ask myself, what do I hope to accomplish with this piece of writing. As I write I continue to ask myself that question. And before I send out what I have written I ask myself whether what I have written might help me accomplish what I had hoped to. So when I read a piece like Petras's, I ask "what does he hope to accomplish with this?" And I'm afraid the answers I come up with are uncomplimentary. It seems to have something to do with the "rituals of degradation." Not degradation so much of Obama -- because he's not in or subject to Petras's audience -- but degradation of Obama supporters who might have excessively high expectations of progressive change from an Obama administration. The tone doesn't seem at all aimed at winning over people who might be persuadable but at humiliating people who aren't as prescient as he is. Quite simply, Petras comes across as a bully in his article, motivated more by spite than by any reasonable prospect of persuasion. Horowitz comes to mind, as does Hitchens. -- Sandwichman _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list pen-l@lists.csuchico.edu https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
