tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post9201616183732761613..comments2024-03-28T19:18:40.387-04:00Comments on Northern Reflections: The Disposable CitizenOwen Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-30405466730208456812013-03-18T19:12:05.797-04:002013-03-18T19:12:05.797-04:00Steinbeck knew his myths. But he also understood h...Steinbeck knew his myths. But he also understood how elites could use myth to manipulate the dispossessed.<br /><br />If the poor truly believed they were only temporarily embarrassed millionaires, the rich were home free.Owen Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-43146151457851963652013-03-18T17:53:16.363-04:002013-03-18T17:53:16.363-04:00Steinbeck is interesting in that he believed that ...Steinbeck is interesting in that he believed that the reason socialism never took hold in America was that the poor did not seem themselves as being exploited, but merely as "temporarily embarrassed millionaires." In other words, they didn't care about the obscene amount of wealth held by the elites, because they believed that they themselves would be one of those elites one day!<br /><br />And I don't think this attitude changed since Steinbeck's time. Americans tolerate a huge level inequality because they believe that their country possesses an exceptional level of social mobility, even when statistics show that the majority of Americans die in the same social class into which they are born.Dr. Atomichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11215469093415105007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-54750565276552052013-03-18T07:07:34.205-04:002013-03-18T07:07:34.205-04:00The grumblers are the new philistines, Dana. Mathe...The grumblers are the new philistines, Dana. Mathew Arnold identified them back in the days when the sun never set on the British Empire.<br /><br />And our present government, who wishes Canada was still Britain's adoring stepchild, don't know they're the new philistines.Owen Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-47576931274573056672013-03-18T01:41:35.430-04:002013-03-18T01:41:35.430-04:00Owen, the grumblers understood all too well.
The...Owen, the grumblers understood all too well. <br /><br />They have won too, by the way.Danahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12465953801145126160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-16242909825513693012013-03-17T16:26:22.294-04:002013-03-17T16:26:22.294-04:00I agree with both your points, Lorne. We should no...I agree with both your points, Lorne. We should not forget that Romney chose Ryan to be his running mate.<br /><br />Obviously, both men have learned nothing from their defeat.<br /><br />Secondly, some grumbled when Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize. Those who grumbled didn't understand East of Eden. They didn't understand Of Mice and Men.<br /><br />And, most of all, they didn't understand The Grapes of Wrath.Owen Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-31993706654652029202013-03-17T15:08:21.137-04:002013-03-17T15:08:21.137-04:00Two comments here. Owen, your post reminded me of ...Two comments here. Owen, your post reminded me of Mitt Romney's disastrous declaration that he was not interested in 47% of the American citizenry because "they believe they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing..." It was indeed a chilling admission of moral bankruptcy.<br /><br />Comment Number Two: Karen, in all the years that I taught The Grapes of Wrath, not once did I ever tire of it, so rich and deeply infused with Steinbeck's own deep morality and outrage at injustice. It is a book that, in many ways, has never been more timely. I wish everyone would read it.<br /><br />Lornehttp://www.politicsanditsdiscontents.blogspot.canoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-14685555502781077542013-03-17T13:51:00.364-04:002013-03-17T13:51:00.364-04:00You're reading a beautiful and an angry book, ...You're reading a beautiful and an angry book, Karen. Perhaps you've reached the passage where Rose of Sharon nurses the old man.<br /><br />It's poignant -- and it captures the desperation and the nobility of those who have been judged disposable.<br /><br />It also lights a fuse in any serious reader of the book. If those who have been written off manage to organize -- think Idle No More -- those who hold the reins of power will be washed away.Owen Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-35609235014499575772013-03-17T13:34:55.250-04:002013-03-17T13:34:55.250-04:00I'm reading The Grapes of Wrath for the first ...I'm reading <i>The Grapes of Wrath</i> for the first time. Its quite heartbreaking how similarly the modern poor and the book's "Okies" are spoken to and about. I am at the point where Steinbeck talks about how the owners are right to fear the hungry, where if the hungry would just get together, they could take over the land. I don't know whether to feel hope or despair. It seems like we have heard these same words over and over throughout history and yet this same scenario keeps happening. karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11131927710530023725noreply@blogger.com