[lit-ideas] Re: A political thought (continued)

On 2004/04/30, at 12:38, Omar Kusturica wrote:

> Indeed. What would be the example of such a state,
> anyway ?

No perfect example exists. One can easily point to exceptions that 
demonstrate that the boundaries at which people draw the line have been 
shifted but not eliminated; the French ruling forbidding Muslim girls 
to wear headscarves to school comes to mind. So do the activities of 
reactionary political movements that harken back to idealized 
ethnically, religiously, or what-have-you "purer" forms of national 
identity. Still, the Europeans who slaughtered each other in the name 
of religion during the Thirty-Years War and, again, in the name of 
nationalist ideologies during WWI and WWII have become a good deal less 
obsessive in these regards. Ditto for most Japanese.

To use a Japanese example, a country in which right-wing fanatics not 
only venerated the Emperor but controlled the government and launched 
wars in the Emperor's name has come along way when the right-wing 
fanatics sound cars still blare their messages outside of train 
stations but the crowd proceeds on its indifferent way, to go to work, 
to get home, to purchase another Vuitton bag, drink another Starbucks 
coffee, or decide which of the numerous ethnic cuisines on offer in the 
station's restaurants will hit the spot for dinner.


John L. McCreery
The Word Works, Ltd.
55-13-202 Miyagaya, Nishi-ku
Yokohama, Japan 220-0006

Tel 81-45-314-9324
Email mccreery@xxxxxxx

"Making Symbols is Our Business"

------------------------------------------------------------------
To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off,
digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html

Other related posts: