Lunch with Sunni and Jim
Get out of here and go read Sunni Maravillosa's conversation with Jim Bovard. Go on. I'll forgive you.
What? Still here? Fine. Check these out:
Sunni: So, who's been worse so far with the abuse for you? The Clintonistas or the Busheviks?
Jim: I have heard far more from Bush supporters, but that may be partly due to the fact that far more people use email now than in the 1990s. Perhaps it is also a factor of the national mood changing after 9/11 ... perhaps rage is now a sign of conservative virtue, as it was for leftists in the late 1960s and 1970s. According to a Washington Post piece published on tax day, anger is now a hallmark of virtue among liberals who despise Bush. I don't perceive bulging eyes and throbbing forehead veins as signs of wisdom. High blood pressure is not a good proxy for having received a divine revelation.
Sunni: Definitely not. Which president is worse, in your opinion—Clinton or Bushnev?
Jim: Both were dreadful. Clinton might have been as bad as Bush if he had a Congress that was as servile. I have been surprised to see how many conservatives applaud the Bush team's bizarre argument that the president is above the Constitution any time the president says the word war. Many Washington conservatives would probably applaud Bush if he announced that God had crowned him king.
... Sunni: Geez, don't get me started on Fukuyama! Or libertarians who seem to think that the battle for liberty is exactly that—a battle with a clear winning and losing side that will never need to be engaged again. How can you stand immersing yourself into mainstream politics as much as you need to to write your books? Or are you able to maintain some kind of distance from the awful things you dig up?
Jim: There is an old story about two Greek philosophers ... the first one saw the injustices of daily life and spent all his time crying, and the other saw the absurdities of daily life and laughed. Getting greatly distraught over government abuses is a recipe for early burnout. Energy is finite, and the more I spend teeth-gnashing and swearing, the less I will have for digging and writing.
Sunni: That sounds a lot like the attitude my Sweetie has, Jim; his ability to laugh has helped me gain some perspective, even though I still get more upset than I know is wise.
... Jim: Playwright Henrik Ibsen said, Never wear your best trousers when you go out to fight for freedom and truth. Some libertarians seem to assiduously avoid dirtying their white gloves. I think there is no better issue right now than torture to vivify how the federal government is off the leash. But instead of stooping to notice the torture, some Beltway libertarians seem far more excited about the possibility of eminent domain reform in Rhode Island or the privatization of the fire department in Yazoo, Mississippi. But if the government can consecrate its right to torture—then nothing else matters.
... Sunni: It's been a long time since I read Feeling Your Pain, but I remember being horrified by a lot of what you covered. I know I'm not the first to say it, but Bushnev makes me think back wistfully to the Clinton days. And Bush and his cronies are fundamentally just an extension of Clinton et al ... I mean, how much difference is there really between Ashcroft or Alberto Gonzalez and Janet Reno? And what's really scary to think about is what will come next. I just don't see things getting better before they get much worse ... do you?
Jim: I thought Reno would be the worst attorney general for a long time, but Ashcroft officially trumped her on December 6, 2001, when he proclaimed that Those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty ... only aid terrorists for they erode our national unity and ... give ammunition to America's enemies. Reno's power grabs and horrendous abuses appeared to many people as anomalies. Yet Ashcroft and Gonzales seem determined to carve out the political principles for absolutism.
I don't see things getting better any time sooner, but I don't have the gift of prophecy.
Convinced? Go. Come back, though; I'll miss ya.
What? Still here? Fine. Check these out:
Sunni: So, who's been worse so far with the abuse for you? The Clintonistas or the Busheviks?
Jim: I have heard far more from Bush supporters, but that may be partly due to the fact that far more people use email now than in the 1990s. Perhaps it is also a factor of the national mood changing after 9/11 ... perhaps rage is now a sign of conservative virtue, as it was for leftists in the late 1960s and 1970s. According to a Washington Post piece published on tax day, anger is now a hallmark of virtue among liberals who despise Bush. I don't perceive bulging eyes and throbbing forehead veins as signs of wisdom. High blood pressure is not a good proxy for having received a divine revelation.
Sunni: Definitely not. Which president is worse, in your opinion—Clinton or Bushnev?
Jim: Both were dreadful. Clinton might have been as bad as Bush if he had a Congress that was as servile. I have been surprised to see how many conservatives applaud the Bush team's bizarre argument that the president is above the Constitution any time the president says the word war. Many Washington conservatives would probably applaud Bush if he announced that God had crowned him king.
... Sunni: Geez, don't get me started on Fukuyama! Or libertarians who seem to think that the battle for liberty is exactly that—a battle with a clear winning and losing side that will never need to be engaged again. How can you stand immersing yourself into mainstream politics as much as you need to to write your books? Or are you able to maintain some kind of distance from the awful things you dig up?
Jim: There is an old story about two Greek philosophers ... the first one saw the injustices of daily life and spent all his time crying, and the other saw the absurdities of daily life and laughed. Getting greatly distraught over government abuses is a recipe for early burnout. Energy is finite, and the more I spend teeth-gnashing and swearing, the less I will have for digging and writing.
Sunni: That sounds a lot like the attitude my Sweetie has, Jim; his ability to laugh has helped me gain some perspective, even though I still get more upset than I know is wise.
... Jim: Playwright Henrik Ibsen said, Never wear your best trousers when you go out to fight for freedom and truth. Some libertarians seem to assiduously avoid dirtying their white gloves. I think there is no better issue right now than torture to vivify how the federal government is off the leash. But instead of stooping to notice the torture, some Beltway libertarians seem far more excited about the possibility of eminent domain reform in Rhode Island or the privatization of the fire department in Yazoo, Mississippi. But if the government can consecrate its right to torture—then nothing else matters.
... Sunni: It's been a long time since I read Feeling Your Pain, but I remember being horrified by a lot of what you covered. I know I'm not the first to say it, but Bushnev makes me think back wistfully to the Clinton days. And Bush and his cronies are fundamentally just an extension of Clinton et al ... I mean, how much difference is there really between Ashcroft or Alberto Gonzalez and Janet Reno? And what's really scary to think about is what will come next. I just don't see things getting better before they get much worse ... do you?
Jim: I thought Reno would be the worst attorney general for a long time, but Ashcroft officially trumped her on December 6, 2001, when he proclaimed that Those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty ... only aid terrorists for they erode our national unity and ... give ammunition to America's enemies. Reno's power grabs and horrendous abuses appeared to many people as anomalies. Yet Ashcroft and Gonzales seem determined to carve out the political principles for absolutism.
I don't see things getting better any time sooner, but I don't have the gift of prophecy.
Convinced? Go. Come back, though; I'll miss ya.
posted by B.W. Richardson at
9:42 AM
1 Comments:
So glad you like the interview!
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