frizztext: Swift or Monty Python: in UK to criticize is not a capital crime – but it seems to be so in the USA with those overwhelming “political correctness” rules and the duty to optimism?
Did you know that, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the origin of the word snark lies in the snorting sound people made — already in the nineteenth century! — when they wanted to dismiss or ridicule another person? These days, others might not be able to hear us as we roll our eyes in disbelief at their opinions (when eyes roll in front of a laptop, do they make a sound?). We’ve become masters, however, at making the silent, verbal equivalent of eye-rolling: a quick, snide comment on a blog post, a disapproving cat in a hastily-phrased meme. Is the art of creative disagreement a thing of the past?
A quick, snide comment on a blog post, a disapproving cat in a hastily phrased meme: is the art of creative disagreement a thing of the past?
Not quite. We read hundreds of your posts every week, from Writing…
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Jonathan Swift or Monty Python,
George Bernhard Shaw or Curchill,
Oscar Wilde or Robin Hood:
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in UK to criticize is not a capital crime –
~
but it seems to be so in the USA
with those overwhelming
“political correctness” rules
and the duty to optimism?
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Don’t get me started about “PC” deceit–however, I’m a fan of optimism, as long as it doesn’t conceal a glaring problem that demands attention.
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hmm…”that demands attention.” I wonder how one would say this en francais?
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No clue–sorry.
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Il ne pas de quoi, no big deal.
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Very creative approach !
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I must admit the ‘duty to optimism’ throws me a bit. Could you elaborate? Is this like, ‘Shit happens’? Or is it something about whether or not to place a question mark inside the bloody quote?
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there’s a duty to optimism,
a duty to happiness,
a duty to buy,
a duty to adore military heroes –
and the “duty to civil disobedience”,
once demanded by the only American philosopher
Henry David Thoreau –
long time forgotten.
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Yeah, I remember Thoreau, brilliant philosopher. The dude who ‘withdrew,’ right? Yet had his mom bring him his food? New song lyrics: “If you wanna stop the world from spinning, shut yer mouth and start spinning.” Think that’s right.
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my article about Thoreau:
P.S.:
you amused me with: “…had his mom bring him his food?”
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betcha it was his favorite foods, too (snark, snark).
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