Franzen encore: 'The foibles of modern life in a borderline rogue state'

[mfarcas at mail.com]

The foibles of modern life in a borderline rogue state:

http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2010/10/franzen_freedom

>The United States is "causing enormous trouble around the world" not due to some muddled idea of freedom, but due to a mixed-up conviction that America is special, the vanguard of providence, called forth unto the world with the righteous sword of liberation. If America is "almost a rogue state", it is because our Pharisaic self-infatuation encourages us to see ourselves as a colossus of emancipation both able and obligated to stomp around the globe making it safe for democracy. It really isn't because Americans insist on motoring to the Piggly Wiggly in petrol-guzzling Ram Ziggurats. 

I also hesitate to affirm Mr Franzen's hypothesis that America is a "problem state" because of its malcontent immigrant stock, though inveterate Australian criminality does make you stop and think. I'd hypothesis 
that, not unlike empires of yore, America is a problem state because it is rich, powerful, and almost religiously full of itself.


perhaps we should put an end to this off-topic Franzen thread. I know, I know, this is Pynchonland.

Kudos to Lorentzen who tries to establish a nexus between the two of them.



-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Kohut <markekohut at yahoo.com>
To: Michael Bailey <michael.lee.bailey at gmail.com>; P-list <pynchon-l at waste.org>
Sent: Wed, Oct 27, 2010 3:03 pm
Subject: Re: Jonathan Franzen: 'America is almost a rogue state'


No, and it has since occurred to me that maybe what he most





















































noticed was himself full of wine THINKING his prose was different???

































































































































































----- Original Message ----





















































From: Michael Bailey <michael.lee.bailey at gmail.com>





















































To: P-list <pynchon-l at waste.org>





















































Sent: Wed, October 27, 2010 7:59:58 AM





















































Subject: Re: Jonathan Franzen: 'America is almost a rogue state'











































































































Mark Kohut wrote:











































































































> In ambitious fiction, one's views/opinions matter and are somehow there. (just





















































> read a great line





















































> from Cheever about how even an extra glass of wine is visible in one's prose).





















































>

































































































































































not that that ever stopped him, eh?























































































































































































































      






















































 
 
 
 
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