Your manuscript is both good and original. But the part that is good is not original, and the part that is original is not good.The quotation has haunted me for the past week. Witty, but not the best of portents.
I have spent the past four weeks in Oregon trying to develop a schedule for my blog posts.
My old schedule of daily posts needs to be modified. Returning to work creates some limitations. But not as many as my broken ankle.
Most writers would love to have a bit of forced immobility in their lives. Time to sit and write. A poet's dream.
Unfortunately, immobility can also lead to some rather repetitive life experiences. And, short of sounding like the prosaic equivalent of Philip Glass, I need to be experiencing a bit more in my life before I start sharing the dark echoes in the back of my mental warehouse.
For a week, I have been working on a post on "poverty" in Mexico. I can now stop fussing over it because my blogger friend Felipe has produced a marvelous piece.
I suggest you head on over to Gringo arrogance and enjoy.
And then talk amongst yourselves.
Perhaps, I will then have some idea how often I am going to post original material.
Thanks for linking to Felipe's post - I did not know he had another blog!
ReplyDeleteHe is right on concerning the issue - can't wait to see what your take is.
So, US Americans are, as a group, morally shallow and often arrogant.
ReplyDeleteStop the presses!
Sub-headline: blogger discovers human beings are often arrogant, self-deceived, and condescending.
No kidding.
Find a world map, throw a dart at it blindfolded, and if it hits even a slightly populated area, I can say a priori, you'll find an example of the human critter at his worst.
I am not minimizing the author's point, that US Americans can be a real pain in the ass. I know. I am one.
What I hope for, and perhaps the author of the blog does so as well, is a new conversation with my cousins around the world to find out what they have learned about successfully making a communal existence.
We all have much to learn from one another. But much gets in the way of that learning -- xenophobia, ethnocentrism, economism, racism, stupidism. These are original conditions surrounding any possible successful conversation with one another.
My initial sense is that the US suffers from too much John Galt, and not enough Tom Joad.
Perhaps that is a place to begin the conversation, Old Love.
John Hofer
Leah -- I agree with almost everything in Felipe's post. Mexico is not a poor couintry. It can do more for its economy, but poverty is not the primary reason young Mexicans head north. Nancy Pelosi, of course, has her own political agenda for masquerading as a Bible-believer. Unfortunately, she is merely feeding into the fears that have flared around the immigration issue.
ReplyDeleteJohn -- Good to see you have come to the table with your name tag in place.
Felipe was emrely making the point that the people of Mexico are not the impoverished lot too many Americans believe they are. For her own political purposes, Ms. Pelosi is fanning those flames. But, why should I be surprised? Politicians would not recognize shame if it came wrapped in a contribution envelope.
Thanks for the plug. I like plugs.
ReplyDeleteI also liked the reference to Philip Glass, the most boring composer ever to walk the earth.
Leah: I not only have "another" blog. I have five total. See the Profile area.
Ole Steve here, he just has one, poor baby.
What I have learned from visiting Mexico since 1963...is that it's not what you want that counts...it's what you need.
ReplyDeleteSaludos,
Francisco
Felipe -- Better to get a plug than to get plugged.
ReplyDeleteFrancisco -- Another reason I love Mexico.