AtD: Remembering Memorial Day post.

[Matthew Cissell]

Here here. Well said sir. Let us by all means be on guard against simple flag waving and the other mechanisms of mindless nationalism, but let us not forget that many have suffered and died. I have vets in my family. When I think of Memorial Day I think of them, not "bombs bursting on air".
By the way did anyone see the NPR piece on Vets and sweatlodges? http://www.npr.org/2012/05/28/153875444/in-sweat-lodge-vets-find-healing-down-to-the-core Made me think a bit along Pynchon lines. Damaged vets from a rationalized world (a la Weber) devoid of the possibility of providing a cure for the 'soul'. Science will mend your leg, but what will fix your heart?
And one more thing, the AD text cited (p903) might be read while thinking of Anderson's "Imagined Communities", and I can't help remembering Sasha Pöhlmann's reading (PN 56 -57) of the GR passage where Slothrop is certainly affected by what happens to Mucker-Maffick.
"...in the realm of pain and destruction, what can polarity matter?" Good question. My answer is that the death of an innocent in some attack (whether by 'insurgents' or soldiers in uniform) should be equally heinous to me despite their nationality, religion, etc. However, if one of your loved ones dies in a violent situation alongside his adversary, should you mourn both deaths the same? Should you experience the same sadness for both losses? I wouldn't expect someone to mourn the loss of my loved one equal to the loss of their loved one. Remember, Buddha and Christ exceptional figures.

MC Otis

________________________________
From: Michael Bailey <michael.lee.bailey at gmail.com>
To: P-list <pynchon-l at waste.org> 
Sent: Tuesday, May 29, 2012 2:22 AM
Subject: Re: AtD: Remembering Memorial Day post.

Memorial Day - a day to remember what was lost, when conflict raged.
We lost people, people who - odds are - somebody loved and will miss,
people with unique talents and viewpoints.
(and money, trees, buildings, raw materials, opportunities...)

We're still losing people, to the same horror, by the way.  How can
this waste be stopped?

On Mon, May 28, 2012 at 11:45 AM, Mark Kohut <markekohut at yahoo.com> wrote:
> "As if just having discovered a level of 'reality' at which nations, like money in the bank,
> are merged and indistinguishable--the obvious example here being the immense population
> of the dead, military and civilian,due to the Great War everyone expects imminently to
> seep over us. One hears mathematicians of both countries speak of 'changes of sign' when
> wishing to distinguish England from Germany---but in the realm of pain and destruction, what can
> polarity matter?'---p.903, 2/3 down
>
> The estimable Chris Hayes on the Up With Chris Hayes Show yesterday morn, did a verbal essay very along
> the lines above and has been facing a shitstorm of angry criticism and plain interwebs hate over it. The more
> things never change.......
>
> Check it out if time and interest. Send him some kind of verbal support at least,maybe?



-- 
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