Another corker, Morgoth. Oddly enough, I lived in the state of Tennessee for a time, with my American wife, a proud daughter of the South. We got married in Sevier County, where Dolly Parton hailed from. Even then, the 'good old boy' culture was in full retreat. I used to admire and respect the US, but I haven't for quite some time now, and it is difficult to imagine ever doing so again. I find it toxic, now. You're right about Trump, I think. RIP Dolly.
Burt Reynolds in his Firebird laughing across the American South was as close as I got, and that was good enough. The America I grew with watching in films was a wonderland.
That mythic vision of 'Burt Reynolds era' America is one, I suspect, still shared by many. There was just something about that time and place that was fascinating to me as a young lad in the north of England. Bradford was nowt like Nashville or Tallahassee.
That 80s optimism, the wounds of the 70s and Vietnam healing over, it become nigh-on perfect cultural formula to export as soft power. If we were to be cynical about it.
Who could Burt Reynolds and Sally Fields? Or Marty McFly or Ghostbusters.
Excellent article Morgoth. The what-could-have-been of Trump surrounded by the folk of Dolly's smoky mountains with the harsh what-is of Howard "The Lowborn" Lutnick and Mark "The Stereotype" Levin glowering over his shoulder in every photo and press conference was masterful. A harsh image, but one masterfully painted. Bravo.
Someone posted a clip of Barbara Walters interviewing Dolly Parton. Walters is not-so-subtly hostile to Parton. Walters effectively says to Parton, 'What do you think about someone like me and where I am from looking down on you and calling you a rube?' Two thousand years and some things never change. After Parton replies, giving a masterclass in aristocratic Southern dignity and decorum, Walters follows up asking, in essence, if Ms. Parton had such large breasts at the age of 12 or 13. One wonders if Bahbwa was in the flight logs.
What is interesting is the aristocratic dignity and confidence that Ms. Parton, (as we Southerners would call her being true to the decorum demanded of all Southerners of any class), displayed in her reply. One person, with all of the power couldn't wield it in service to the people, but had to lord it over them. Ms. Parton displayed what still exists in parts of the South, but is slowly fading.
That was the period of the empire where the Ellis Island conquerors barely kept the mask on. Even then it wasn't very subtle. Just 30 years later we have Paul Krugman openly cackling as he says what power the rubes still have will go away as we are replaced, and 40 years later calling for the destruction of the MAGAns after Trump. I wonder
It hasn't been easy living as a nation in exile as the empire imports new nations and hands them our wealth and what few opportunities they are creating. Most don't yet realize that this is what we are. But, that realization is coming with increasing speed. It is best we recognize it so we can deal with it. We can restore our confidence, dignity and grace along with our people to rise above the chethonic snakes and vipers who rule us. We will be building strength as we stoically deflect the venom and abuse they have in store for us. Someday we will carve our home out of this exile.
It is not going to be easy. But a remnant will make it happen. Something new will be born.
Another corker, Morgoth. Oddly enough, I lived in the state of Tennessee for a time, with my American wife, a proud daughter of the South. We got married in Sevier County, where Dolly Parton hailed from. Even then, the 'good old boy' culture was in full retreat. I used to admire and respect the US, but I haven't for quite some time now, and it is difficult to imagine ever doing so again. I find it toxic, now. You're right about Trump, I think. RIP Dolly.
Burt Reynolds in his Firebird laughing across the American South was as close as I got, and that was good enough. The America I grew with watching in films was a wonderland.
That mythic vision of 'Burt Reynolds era' America is one, I suspect, still shared by many. There was just something about that time and place that was fascinating to me as a young lad in the north of England. Bradford was nowt like Nashville or Tallahassee.
That 80s optimism, the wounds of the 70s and Vietnam healing over, it become nigh-on perfect cultural formula to export as soft power. If we were to be cynical about it.
Who could Burt Reynolds and Sally Fields? Or Marty McFly or Ghostbusters.
Just so, Morgoth. The ideal soft-power export. And it was.
She was the American QE ll. When Clint Eastwood goes it's really over.
Excellent article Morgoth. The what-could-have-been of Trump surrounded by the folk of Dolly's smoky mountains with the harsh what-is of Howard "The Lowborn" Lutnick and Mark "The Stereotype" Levin glowering over his shoulder in every photo and press conference was masterful. A harsh image, but one masterfully painted. Bravo.
Someone posted a clip of Barbara Walters interviewing Dolly Parton. Walters is not-so-subtly hostile to Parton. Walters effectively says to Parton, 'What do you think about someone like me and where I am from looking down on you and calling you a rube?' Two thousand years and some things never change. After Parton replies, giving a masterclass in aristocratic Southern dignity and decorum, Walters follows up asking, in essence, if Ms. Parton had such large breasts at the age of 12 or 13. One wonders if Bahbwa was in the flight logs.
What is interesting is the aristocratic dignity and confidence that Ms. Parton, (as we Southerners would call her being true to the decorum demanded of all Southerners of any class), displayed in her reply. One person, with all of the power couldn't wield it in service to the people, but had to lord it over them. Ms. Parton displayed what still exists in parts of the South, but is slowly fading.
That was the period of the empire where the Ellis Island conquerors barely kept the mask on. Even then it wasn't very subtle. Just 30 years later we have Paul Krugman openly cackling as he says what power the rubes still have will go away as we are replaced, and 40 years later calling for the destruction of the MAGAns after Trump. I wonder
It hasn't been easy living as a nation in exile as the empire imports new nations and hands them our wealth and what few opportunities they are creating. Most don't yet realize that this is what we are. But, that realization is coming with increasing speed. It is best we recognize it so we can deal with it. We can restore our confidence, dignity and grace along with our people to rise above the chethonic snakes and vipers who rule us. We will be building strength as we stoically deflect the venom and abuse they have in store for us. Someday we will carve our home out of this exile.
It is not going to be easy. But a remnant will make it happen. Something new will be born.