tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-733684973453456698.post7438079633614455387..comments2022-03-10T04:47:30.086-07:00Comments on Falstaff Was My Tutor: Every Man a KingFalstaff Was My Tutorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17384865942893123660noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-733684973453456698.post-24615807910373406602017-08-27T16:41:07.029-07:002017-08-27T16:41:07.029-07:00Dear Mark,
Thank you for your thoughtful response....Dear Mark,<br />Thank you for your thoughtful response. In large measure, I agree with you. I think the problem is that the myth of a whole earth with no division will be a hard sell to those who see that very thing as the epitome of decadence and moral decay. They also don't seem to respond well to love...<br />But I do appreciate your very thoughtful, smart response. <br />Thank you again,<br />BradFalstaff Was My Tutorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17384865942893123660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-733684973453456698.post-37320783888201316362017-06-28T13:03:13.324-07:002017-06-28T13:03:13.324-07:00Looking down your noses at the masses who rallied ...Looking down your noses at the masses who rallied for Trump? How ignorant, my dear intellectuals. The evil of HRC and the arrogance of BO have sickened us. It is obvious you would rather share time with muslims who might be terrorists (and who are female mutilaters) before us. Are you speaking up about the antifa thugs who terrorize Trump supporters? Are you supporters of the leftist tactics of intimidation? Shooting congressmen? Now we see people in your camp calling for killing Trump. How telling. Shame. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05103096198899450609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-733684973453456698.post-3043049172206829882017-05-01T08:37:34.362-07:002017-05-01T08:37:34.362-07:00Thank you, Dr. Mary, for your lovely response. Fre...Thank you, Dr. Mary, for your lovely response. Freedom is, as a few of the French Existentialists have written, a terrible thing, indeed. Primarily because of the anguish that accompanies the determination to be truly free. Anguish attends every free decision: the anguish of having to decide in the midst of unknowing, confusion, and uncertainty; the anguish of having to live with consequences whether forseen or unforseen; and finally the anguish of having to be solely responsible for the creation of one's own life. <br /><br />You hearten me,too, when you suggest my writing and thinking does some actual good. I will try to remember your words when I feel as though I am shouting into the wind, believing that no one hears or if they do, what I offer is inconsequential. <br />Best regards to you,<br />BradFalstaff Was My Tutorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17384865942893123660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-733684973453456698.post-55727240618470373432017-04-30T22:54:02.180-07:002017-04-30T22:54:02.180-07:00As I considered your eloquent portrait of the mind...As I considered your eloquent portrait of the minds and hearts of those who seem to me,Trump's mindless and heartless apostles, a sigh of relief dared to emerge. A breath, tightly held since my first glimpse of the debauchery of Trump's rallies, released itself in some healing way. I, like many others, alive in the activism in the streets or armed with the promising power of the pen, have been tormented with the why of it all, the mean-spirited chants, the unacceptable giving over of a crown to a clown, a tragic banty rooster of a hero. I'm crawling on my belly, exhausted at making excuses for them, his accomplices. What you describe- an abandoning of responsibility for personal fear, an abrogation of collaborative goodwill, a desire to protect a tribal order- makes sense, really allowing me to exhale a bit for the truth of it all. Your view resonates, not blaming, but unearthing the mystery behind this national Trumpian madness. You expose the archetypal story, mythifying in a true way, the drama unfolding. If you ever questioned whether your writing and wondering does any good, it just did for me. Thanks too, for your astute poems on Stephanie Pope's mythopoetry blog, posted on Making Myth Making the World. They led me to your post here.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18418987220617449668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-733684973453456698.post-6364129595326090472017-04-15T18:11:01.995-07:002017-04-15T18:11:01.995-07:00Thanks for your comment, MartiThanks for your comment, MartiFalstaff Was My Tutorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17384865942893123660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-733684973453456698.post-40654487133696250652017-04-14T23:45:02.920-07:002017-04-14T23:45:02.920-07:00There are commonly held fantasies about America an...There are commonly held fantasies about America and the belief that America is under divine protection because it represents unique and divine ideals. It is a young country populated by people from diverse circumstances. The idealism perhaps came from sharing the rupture and loss of a previous identity and history and then a new prospect born of sharing this transformation with others who share such a past. America's idealized qualities are being unmasked and its projected image of greatness is dissolving. If someone like Trump promises to renew the fading image, and place the blame for its loss on Mexicans, Muslims and various foreign influences, it is understandable how attractive that would be. Like adolescents who learn that a deified hero, or a favorite parent casts a dark shadow, there is a great temptation to look for someone who can rescue that projection. Everyone who shares this desire to revive the fading image is a member of one's tribe and those who call attention to the dangerous imperfections of the tribal identity are enemies. Marti Fenton White Deer Songhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09950752494516234824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-733684973453456698.post-44553333261881591922017-04-14T20:25:29.735-07:002017-04-14T20:25:29.735-07:00Thanks for your comment, Hardie. I agree that &quo...Thanks for your comment, Hardie. I agree that "dreadful freedom" is a hard to bear for some, but I think that links to Hoffer's thesis, too, in that the frustration of bearing, or trying to bear and failing, the often heavy responsibility of freedom may feel a bit like failure and make them ripe for mass movements of some kind. But you're right to note the population pressures; there are probably at least twice as many of us as when Hoffer wrote his book, and perhaps less opportunity is equated with less freedom. I like the way you stated your comment and your thoughtfulness is evident. I hope you come back in the future.Falstaff Was My Tutorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17384865942893123660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-733684973453456698.post-61832829598698769532017-04-14T05:16:22.594-07:002017-04-14T05:16:22.594-07:00I've used a critique similar to Hoffer's a...I've used a critique similar to Hoffer's as explanation for why some friends have gotten too deep into conspiracy theory--low self-esteem. But I don't think that explains all of Trump's appeal. Having been born in the southern US, I know for a fact that many of those people have high IQ's and happy lives, so my best guess is that 'dreadful freedom' has simply worn out its welcome, amid population pressures, and that we will be in for a more restrictive semi-feudal period for a while...Hardie Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01897953145290595474noreply@blogger.com