Hello Martians

[BDBoop]

Gotta love Margaret Atwood.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/29/opinion/sunday/hello-martians-this-is-america.html?_r=2

“You are an observer,” they said. “Please tell us: Does America have a different ‘flavor’ from that of other countries? Is it the center of the cultural world? How does it look to outsiders?”

“America has always been different from Europe,” I said, “having begun as a utopian religious community. Some have seen it as a dream world where you can be what you choose, others as a mirage that lures, exploits and disappoints. Some see it as a land of spiritual potential, others as a place of crass and vulgar materialism. Some see it as a mecca for creative entrepreneurs, others as a corporate oligarchy where the big eat the small and inventions helpful to the world are stifled. Some see it as the home of freedom of expression, others as a land of timorous conformity and mob-opinion rule.”

 

[Big Fitz]

I used to think "A Handmaid's Tale" was a good book. But then I realized how insanely silly the premise was.

As for her column... If I facepalmed over it, I'd touch the wall behind me it was so bad.

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

“In ‘The Maypole of Merry Mount,’ ” I said, “some people having a fun party in the woods are disrupted by the Puritans, who consider them immoral. Both groups have come to America in search of ‘freedom.’ The Merry Mounters interpret ‘freedom’ as sexual and individual freedom, the Puritans as freedom to practice their own religion while outlawing the behavior of others. This fight is still going on in America: the same issues come up in every election. In my novel ‘The Handmaid’s Tale,’ ” I added modestly, “I’ve included them as ‘freedom to’ and ‘freedom from.’ ”

Telling and troubling that in the 174 years since the story’s publication, this inane and tedious issue continues to trouble us. And unfortunately will continue to do so for some time to come.

 

[whitehall]

Maybe the almost bankrupt left leaning hypocritical NY Times "gotta love Margaret Atwood" but to the rest of us she is just another Canadian left wing radical.