[Billthedrill]

Good Lord - Vonnegut, Mailer and Vidal? Geriatric ex-trendoids whose talent is decades past its "sell-by" date. Love to have the Metamucil concession at that party.

Vonnegut, at least, has not fallen prey to the grotesque attempts on the part of the other two to project a macho image more appropriate to men fifty years younger and fifty IQ points lower. But all three seem blissfully unaware that the verities they have spent careers propounding as received truths are no longer the basis for a world-changing philosophy; that they have borne fruit and that fruit is rotten. Romantic youth overturning the ossified social structures of their elders ended up in the killing fields of Pol Pot and the literary and artistic holocaust of the Cultural Revolution. Anti-fascism enthusiasms ended up supporting despots. Anti-imperialistic passions ended up supporting communistic empires. Anti-militaristic slogans ended up in the massacre of Tiananmen Square and the brutal blitzkrieg that led to the final takeover of South Vietnam by the North. Brick by brick, piece by piece, each of the high-sounding nostrums promulgated by these three has been exposed for the sham that it is.

The stridency we now hear from these fading icons is that of failure and irrelevance, and that is precisely what Miller pointed out with respect to Mailer. They have retained their ideals untarnished by the horrors that the unrestricted applications of those ideals caused in the real world. It is sad that they think this to be laudable.

[Buckwheats]

Denial ain't a river in Egypt.

[Pharmboy]

Way to go, Bill!

I hereby nominate your mini-rant for Quote of the Week.

[Hildy]

"Love to have the metamucil concession at that party!" Email that to Miller..that's great!

[Steve_Seattle]

"Geriatric ex-trendoids whose talent is decades past its "sell-by" date."

Now that's a good line - wish I'd thought of it.

[Steve_Seattle]

More and more, I see the liberal/conservative rift as a conflict between the romantic and the classical temperaments. The romantic idealizes nature, the individual, emotion, spontaneity, and extravagence, whereas the classical temperament favors reason, moderation, proportion, and the rule of law. But ironically, when the romantic temperament gains political power, it uses a legalistic iron fist to impose its way and to crush individuality.

[marktwain]

Excellent Rant!! Congrats, you nailed it.

[TheWillardHotel]

Thanks for posting those comments, you exceed simple
invective.

I just finished a book by Jacques Barzun, named "From
Dawn To Decadence". Your comments reminded me of some
his his observations of the last century.

[MattAMiller]

Dead on and eloquently stated. You've made my morning. Thanks.

[stands2reason]

I second Pharmboy's nomination for QOTD. Another LBG (Long-but-good) for you, RJJ!

Bill, I wasn't surprised to see your name on the end of this classic diatribe. I've said it before, I'll say it again. Damn, but you're good!

[CoolPapaBoze]

I obviously don't know you, but WOW, you are right on. That was as succint a summary of what these, and many other idiots like them, have become. They aren't slowed one bit by the reality that the ideals and principals they expound have been proven time and time again to be failures, the combined cost of which is measured in tens of millions of lives. Extremely well said bravo.

[freedumb2003]

here here!

I raise my hand for a vote for QOTD!

Great and piercing rant!

[Mr. Mojo]

Vonnegut, at least, has not fallen prey to the grotesque attempts on the part of the other two to project a macho image

The fruitcake Vidal has attempted to project a macho imagine? If by macho you mean "macho, macho man .....I'm gonna be, a macho man" (by the Village People), then I see your point.

[the_doc]

Bump for that post.

[albee]

Re: Post #18

"Good Lord - Vonnegut, Mailer and Vidal? Geriatric ex-trendoids whose talent is decades past its "sell-by" date. Love to have the Metamucil concession at that party. "

Great post!

You do have a way with words!