Tony Judt

Okay, I recently heard an interview on NPR with Tony Judt, and then today excerpts from the interview in honor of Judt because he passed away. I don't know what it is with this guy, whether it's his raspy British old man accent, his intelligence and grace in life and with ALS (Lou Gehrigs Disease), or perhaps his ability to look beyond the obvious "republican" "democrat" "liberal" "tea bagger", stereotypical thinking and boxes, whatever the reason i love this guy!  The inability of people to see outside of their party, to understand the good in the other side, and to look beyond the simple-one-liners that supposed fix the country is a lack of understanding of ourselves and our place, a lack of imagination, a forgetfulness of history, and fear of change / difference.

Here is a piece of his recent book:  Ill Fares The Land

Something is profoundly wrong with the way we live today. For thirty years we have made a virtue out of the pursuit of material self-interest: indeed, this very pursuit now constitutes whatever remains of our sense of collective purpose. We know what things cost but have no idea what they are worth. We no longer ask of a judicial ruling or a legislative act: is it good? Is it fair? Is it just? Is it right? Will it help bring about a better society or a better world? Those used to be the political questions, even if they invited no easy answers. We must learn once again to pose them.
The materialistic and selfish quality of contemporary life is not inherent in the human condition. Much of what appears 'natural' today dates from the 1980s: the obsession with wealth creation, the cult of privatization and the private sector, the growing disparities of rich and poor. And above all, the rhetoric which accompanies these: uncritical admiration for unfettered markets, disdain for the public sector, the delusion of endless growth.


We cannot go on living like this. The little crash of 2008 was a reminder that unregulated capitalism is its own worst enemy: sooner or later it must fall prey to its own excesses and turn again to the state for rescue. But if we do no more than pick up the pieces and carry on as before, we can look forward to greater upheavals in years to come. 


And yet we seem unable to conceive of alternatives. This too is something new. Until quite recently, public life in liberal societies was conducted in the shadow of a debate between defenders of 'capitalism' and its critics: usually identified with one or another form of 'socialism'. By the 1970s this debate had lost much of its meaning for both sides; all the same, the 'Left-Right' distinction served a useful purpose. It provided a peg on which to hang critical commentary about contemporary affairs. 

Why am I posting this? Because people are taking themselves and their "enemies" too seriously, yet not within a socioeconomic-philosophical & historical view point.  When we do think of history it is with a fairy tale nostalgia of some lost time.  We are so concerned with being right and others being wrong that we may miss out on learning, surviving, and progressing as individuals and a nation.

We need to add a bit of humor in our life and a bit of compassion,  it isn't wrong for a government to want, protect, or help cultivate a good quality of life for it's people.  Let's throw a little Dalai Lama into the mix, my friends!

Why am I talking about this? Hmmm... I don't know, I keep trying to stay away from the obvious politic bitching, but I just can't....