The Sadness of America

[David Casseres]

The loss of the dream, and the loss of the land.  The country that was
to remain unspoiled, spiritually, politically, culturally, physically,
turned into yet another outhouse of the European soul, after all,
despite the initial hope.

Even for those unaware of this history, the sadness of immigrants not
finding or inheriting the dream or the land.

Even for those who never participated, the loss of their land and their dream.

Even for foreigners, especially Europeans, who always thirsted for the
mere possibility of the dream, and longed to see the ungridded land.

On 10/9/05, John Doe <tristero69 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> I think "the ideal that ain't gonna happen" is a very
> good observation, and I shoulda thought of it - yes,
> you have hit on, if not the major component, then at
> least one of the main ones to the American
> Sadness...the profligate Slaughter of the Buffalo is
> probably one of the first emblems of that
> dissillusionment...with more to come...
>
> --- Bekah <bekah0176 at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>
> > I think that some Americans recognize a sadness in
> > America,
> > Pynchon, as case in point.  But do we perceive the
> > same kind of
> > sadness as non-Americans?
> >
> > I think that our sadness is more for an unfulfilled
> > promise,  a
> > dream, an ideal that ain't gonna happen or maybe
> > that never was.
> > Or perhaps our sadness is about declining power,
> > corrupt as it is and
> > was,   a  misguided nostalgia of sorts.   Then too
> > there is the
> > sadness of what we have done to this beautiful land,
> >  our
> > environment.  This is the awareness of the
> > destruction of greed.
> > All of the above could be put under the general
> > heading of "what a
> > waste."  (so to speak)
> >
> > What kind of sadness do you perceive in Pynchon?
> > Some or all of the
> > above?  Something different?
> >
> > Bekah
> >
> >
> >
> > At 2:54 PM +0200 10/9/05, Thomas Eckhardt wrote:
> > >Indeed. The sadness of America may have to do with
> > "changing all
> > >from subjunctive to declarative, reducing
> > Possibilities to
> > >Simplicities that serve the ends of Governments".
> > Or the ends of
> > >multinational corporations, one might add.
> > >
> > >On a different note: According to my experiences,
> > most US-citizens,
> > >for better or worse, are not capable of perceiving
> > "God's own
> > >country" as sad. Perhaps sadness and melancholy are
> > sentiments we
> > >Europeans bring to America. Just a thought.
> > >
> > >Thanks for your posting, Heikki.
> > >
> > >Thomas
> > >
> > >
> > >Heikki Raudaskoski schrieb:
> > >
> > >>One reason I loved America when I lived there was
> > that it
> > >>was so immensely sad. When I left my Austinite
> > home on
> > >>Joe Sayers and was suddenly confronted by the
> > miracle mile
> > >>of Burnet Road, the melancholy of it all almost
> > crushed me
> > >>sometimes. Pynchon can convey this sorrow very
> > well.
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>Heikki
> > >>
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
>
> __________________________________
> Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005
> http://mail.yahoo.com
>