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Thursday, September 30, 2004
Ooooo, love ta love ya, bay-beh
There is something of an incoherent but amusing rant out of Toronto (a city in eastern Canada) by local newspaper columnist Antonia Zerbisias who, while endorsing the new pro-Kerry movie Going Upriver, gives us her brief summation of the last three decades--in case you, like so many others, completely missed 'em--starting with the end of the Vietnam War;
No wonder that, after the last U.S. Marine scuttled up the helicopter ladders from the U.S. embassy roof in 1975, the nation went into mass denial and memory suppression.Political action gave way to disco action and spouting ideals made way to snorting cocaine.
Then, on Sept. 11, 2001, four hijacked planes crashed into the long-running frenzy of consumerism, trivial pursuits and blissful ignorance.
Because so many Americans don't recall their history, they are repeating it.
Okay, Antonia, if you say so. Thanks for that warning about about cocaine use and repeating history. Haven’t heard that before. (Aside; why did she leave out Punk, New Wave, Grunge, Rap etc. and only credit 70's disco with stopping “political action”? Led Zep fan circa 1979, "Man, disco sucks..." And what about modern jazz, and modern dance?) That strange paragraph/sentence describing the terrorist attack on the "long-running frenzy of consumerism" et al seems to imply that she thinks it is time to get serious. I wonder how should we get serious? Well, we can start by going see this movie and that will tear away the disco/cocaine coating off our senses and carpet bomb us with truth (in case you missed the gazillion other films and documentaries about Vietnam over the last 25 years, Apocalypse Now, Hamburger Hill, The Deer Hunter, Platoon, Coming Home… oh bloody h-ll, here a big list). Apparently, we just haven't been informed. Damn cable TV, you see, as Antonia points out:
But these matters have not been clearly articulated to Americans who mostly rely on cable channels for their news, assuming they are following the news at all. [as opposed to getting her take on the last 30-years, see above]So Going Upriver will hit them like a B-52 bomber. Despite playing like a 90-minute campaign ad...
Now, that last bit quoted is an endorsement we all should heed. Yessiree, I'm dying to shell out 10 bucks for a 90-minute campaign ad.
But I don't have an extra 10 bucks because I just spent my last few pennies on the DVD of The Big Lebowski to replace my video tape (I still quote too much from this film, and have taught a nephew of mine to do the same). Think I'll watch it yet again and have a good laugh at the character Walter who has--as the actor who portrays him, John Goodman, points out in the accompanying special feature--"got an army background and that's his career, reminding people of his service in Vietnam."
WALTER: Those rich f--ks! This whole f--king thing-- I did not watch my buddies die face down in the muck so that this f--king strumpet--DUDE: I don't see any connection to Vietnam, Walter.
WALTER: Well, there isn't a literal connection, Dude.
DUDE: Walter, face it, there isn't any connection. It's your roll.
Posted by Kevin Steel on September 30, 2004 in International Politics | Permalink
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Comments
I know one of the last marines to get extracted off the roof of the Embassy in So. Vietnam - he may have been the last. For several days he couldn't be located. He is a 2 star general now, a dear man, a good guy, and a man with a better perspective of living and mortality than any that you'll meet.
The only thing this man ever supressed was enemy fire. Zerb should stop with the mental inventions and projections, and the hopes that all is wrong with everyone elses world...
Posted by: Joe | 2004-10-01 5:05:44 PM
How could innocents BEING ATTACKED be an example of the victim not learning from history?
Zerb is just a vulgar, self-absorbed idiot.
Posted by: Joe | 2004-10-01 5:08:39 PM
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