By: Annman

Annman — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 13:43:00 +0000

Very intelligent and thoughtful piece. I couldn’t agree more, yet have been unable to articulate to myself why these constant appeals to sign petitions and to forward requests to all of my friends have felt so wrong to me and increased my rebelliousness. Thank you for clarifying the issue. This is political action at its best!

By: Juudith

Juudith — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 20:31:00 +0000

…”why our “liberated” baby boom generation has played key roles in electing Ronald Reagan twice, a George Bush three times, and applying pressure on Bill Clinton and Barack Obama to tilt more and more to the right”? Arthur, I’m a “boomer,” but please don’t include me in that statement! (The older I get the more liberal and “socialist” [I’m sure they’d say I was for having Judeo-Christian values, like equal rights for ALL people, and helping the poor].) I absolutely agree with the need for critical thinking (for everyone!)…but most of the money and emphasis for education goes to only two areas: science and math! “Thinking outside the box” is not part of the military-industrial-governmental-complex package! (Which is why we got it wrong in Vietnam, and now seem to be getting it wrong again in all of the wars we’ve engaged in and dictators we’ve supported since then.) The humanities–English (Literature), other Languages, Philosophy, Psychology, Art, World/American History (of which Americans know SO little, mainly because it isn’t really taught in public schools, never has been, because over half the human race [the female half] still aren’t even recognized as “persons” who deserve “equal rights” under the U.S. Constitution [the ERA, remember that?!] which the Republicans buried 35 years ago and it’s the best kept secret around; most young women have no idea what it is, or was!! “Critical thinking” is NOT part of the “education” agenda! Questioning [anything or any authority] is NOT part of the agenda! Heck, even “science” in public schools often isn’t allowed to include evolution [which, after all, is only a “theory”!]…and the humanities are too “soft” and “feminine” (?) and “touchy-feely” and unimportant to be supported by the military-industrial-governmental complex that runs the world (which moderate midwestern President/ General Eisenhower warned us about). “Corporations”!…on the other hand, now They’re “PERSONS”!…under the U.S. Constitution!!! If you don’t believe it, just ask the Supreme Court! (Amazing, isn’t it?!…this world we’re living in!)
P.S. As a certified boomer, just want you to know I didn’t vote for those guys you mentioned in your article…except for Clinton, and, considering some of his priorities in office, that was a major embarrassment for us feminists…as are some of the too-middle-of-the-road policies of Mr. Obama, whom we thought might be more aware of our dilemma thanks to his relative youth and background. But the center has moved right, and so everyone else seems to have also, “going with the flow.” But if the “arc of the universe bends toward justice,” maybe someday what’s happening in the Middle East will spread to China and beyond, and come back ’round to the U.S. Who knows?! It Could happen!

Comments on: Can a movement tolerate ambiguity?

By: Annman

By: Juudith