pynchon-l-digest V2 #2118

[Doug Millison]

 jbor <jbor at bigpond.com>
>[...]For a change most "anti-American" sentiment right now is coming from
>voices
>inside America, and that's not necessarily a good thing.

If it's coming from "Americans" (and I don't particularly like the way that
word is used, if it's U.S. residents we mean, because Canadians and
Mexicans are also "American), in a spirit of constructive criticism that
seeks to help the country live up to its ideals of democracy and justice,
it's hardly "anti-American."  Dissent has a long tradition in the U.S., in
fact lies at the heart of our nation-building project.

More accurate to call "anti-American" those voices that seek to stifle or
marginalize dissent, that wrap themselves in the flag and demand a
homogenous and uncritical patriotism that supports whatever the politicians
want to do, which is usually in the best interests of their financal
supporters, and which may or may not be in the best interest of the people.


>I think Pynchon in _M&D_ amply demonstrates the insidious ways that
>*language* creates ideology.

I'm not sure precisely what you mean by this, but it sounds good enough.
But, what creates language?




Doug Millison - Writer/Editor/Web Editorial Consultant
millison at online-journalist.com
www.Online-Journalist.com