The Constitutional guarantees of our country have been suspended for some time now, and an assault has begun on the checks and balances structure of the government. The Republic is in peril; the Republic has been in peril for several years and is now cut away almost to a shadow of itself, barely functioning. I think they are carving it up in their minds, deciding who sits there forever and ever, now. In the face of this no one notices that virtually everything we believed in is dead. … I’m trying to learn what the Lie is or what the Lies are, but I can’t even discern that any more. Perhaps I sense the Lie gone from the world because evil is so strong now that it can step forth as it is without deception. The masks are off.Sounds eerily up-to-date, and the most prescient thing in it for me is the statement that without noticing it, almost everything we believed in is dead. I'm thinking here of the UK government's collusion in torture, the erosion of habeas corpus, the increasing state suppression of peaceful protest ... and nobody seems to give a damn. Of course the above was written about the US, and they have led the way the last few years. Hope our American cousins get a decent president next election. If they do, there's a chance things'll look up in the UK too.
The above quotation comes from Philip K. Dick, In Pursuit of Valis: Excerpts from the Exegesis (Lancaster, Penn.: Underwood-Miller, 1991), p.236. Dick wrote this particular passage in July 1974, in the midst of Watergate.
3 comments:
A post, a post! Rumours of the World Cave's death have been greatly exaggerated! :D
"Sounds eerily up-to-date, and the most prescient thing in it for me is the statement that without noticing it, almost everything we believed in is dead. I'm thinking here of the UK government's collusion in torture, the erosion of habeas corpus, the increasing state suppression of peaceful protest ... and nobody seems to give a damn."
I give a damn, you give a damn, most of my friends are damn-givers. The problem is not a lack of damn-giving, but an absence of a plan of action to tackle these problems.
Half the problem is that while the troops are abroad, the person on the street is much more concerned with that than anything else. Defuse the Iraq bomb, and perhaps we might get some traction.
I think, frankly, what we're suffering from right now is "maybe next time" syndrome: people don't feel there's any point in making a move right now, because we've almost got shot of the disastrous Bush presidency and we're hopeful that a change in that seat will allow for change in general.
Think of it this way: is there any point mounting a campaign aimed at change while the Bush presidency is still standing? Or would it be better to launch a campaign when the emperor stands down to ensure that these problems get addressed at a time when they perhaps could be addressed?
Just thinking out loud.
Glad to know you haven't given up on your blog! ;)
Good to hear from you mate! I've been very busy lately. Also badly in need of some paid work!
I hope things do get better. I know people do give a damn but seemingly not in sufficient numbers to change anything. I'm a cynic when it comes to politics but I never believed I'd see western goverments condoning and defending torture. Or trying so brazenly to suppress dissent. I think what really depresses me is that everyone has so easily come to accept it as normal.
Glad someone is reading these ramblings! Makes it all seem worthwhile.
Like you, I can't believe how effortlessly torture was condoned, but unlike you I feel we will be able to reset this nightmare soon enough - perhaps I am being overly optimistic, though.
Good luck finding some paying work!
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