tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000498.post112568904477108775..comments2024-03-22T22:27:57.474-04:00Comments on Inside the Hotdog Factory: Is the Great Divide So Great?Whetam Gnauckweirsthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06038247522187261808noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000498.post-1125851314489679642005-09-04T12:28:00.000-04:002005-09-04T12:28:00.000-04:00I did not know about the actors in WWII, that's in...I did not know about the actors in WWII, that's interesting. I guess Bush is even more John Wayne than I thought. Also I'm sure that the blame game is not unique to the United States, it's just that I can't speak intelligently about the culture of nations which I have not been to or lived in(I do need to pay Canada a visit at some point). <BR/>And at the risk of sounding polyanna myself, in many ways the fight between the right and left factions keeps a lot of things in balance. One thing I believe was genius is that the 'founding fathers' intended for people to fight back and forth in the political arena so as to balance out various viewpoints and keep any one ideal from gaining total dominance. The result being a country with laws that we may not all love, but we can live with(most of the time anyway). But then the hatred going round and round certainly doesn't help anyone.Ascendantlivehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13935500609993327660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000498.post-1125837411723166412005-09-04T08:36:00.000-04:002005-09-04T08:36:00.000-04:00Excellent points, man. I don't want to take anyth...Excellent points, man. I don't want to take anything away from America's prowess in the blame game, but if you ever watch some footage of Canadian parliament, I'm sure you'll agree that we <I>invented</I> and perfected that particular blood sport.<BR/><BR/>Your mention of John Wayne brought an interesting thing to mind for me. Did you know while actors Jimmy Stewart and Clark Gable (and many others) were pulling active duty during WWII that John Wayne actually sat out the war with a Rush-Limbaugh-like injury; some kind of pulled muscle in his leg from his college football days. As the problems with the New Orleans levees and Iraq date back more years than current commentators are acknowledging, so, too, does the tradition of "the chicken hawk."<BR/><BR/>Anyway, the divide between "the right" and "the left" in North America is nearing the point of impossible impasse, such as the Israeli/Palestinian and English/Irish in North Ireland.<BR/><BR/>At the risk of coming off like some kind of Polyanna -- dig through my blog to see just how <I>not</I> Polyanna I am -- I think "the right" and "the left" ought to begin looking at what unites them and work from there. But that'll never happen. There are too many huge pay checks and TV/radio ratings to be had in the Hate Game.Whetam Gnauckweirsthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06038247522187261808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000498.post-1125814031306859202005-09-04T02:07:00.000-04:002005-09-04T02:07:00.000-04:00North Americans ask "Who fucked up?" whereas Europ...<I>North Americans ask "Who fucked up?" whereas Europeans ask "What went wrong?"</I><BR/>I can't speak as to Europe's mindset but the blame game is America's favorite past time, especially since the baseball strike. <BR/>As for people valuing the 'American Dream' I think it is in many ways out of date, the world has changed a great deal since this ideal was first implemented. Some people do still value it, but many of us also realize how unrealistic it often is(with help from Steinbeck and Fitzgerald). <BR/>I think people like Bush because he acts like John Wayne, the 'real American Hero'(meaning lots of violence). Bush as we have come to realize is a gun slinger, he is always right and if he's not you're dead so he was really right in the first place. I'm no fan of President Bush but in all fairness I believe the issue of the levies in New Orleans came up well before he was President. This is where the blame game creates more problems, whoever is in the light in America(aka the President) gets blamed for everything bad that happens regardless of the history. For instance their were issues with Iraq dating back to the 1920s, but listening to people blog, 'it's all Bush's fault'. People often speak as if everything started in 2003, ignoring the extensive history of the situation. As for other reasons why people like Bush, never underestimate the power of denial.Ascendantlivehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13935500609993327660noreply@blogger.com