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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAge of Fracture : A Different Country Now
I listened to this interview with intellectual historian Dan Rodgers, author of Age of Fracture, this morning. I don't agree with him on everything, but he brings much needed perspective to understanding what's going on in the country today.
"One of the interesting things about our current time is a loss of being able to think sequentially, to think slowly, to think about things happening over a relatively gradual, incremental sense of time. How does this happen? In part its about market ideas that move into our everyday language. We think of satisfaction coming instantly, of people making choices very very quickly.
...
We unfortunately have a lot of people who not only dont know history but dont think they need to know, or would be hindered by too much knowledge of history.
And of course within U.S. history theres a long strain of imagining that Americans will avoid the mistakes of others; therefore that they dont really need to know too much about the past. Weve lost a certain realism about history that was stronger in the middle of the last century much stronger."
Link: http://www.radioopensource.org/dan-rodgers-age-of-fracture-a-different-country-now
...
We unfortunately have a lot of people who not only dont know history but dont think they need to know, or would be hindered by too much knowledge of history.
And of course within U.S. history theres a long strain of imagining that Americans will avoid the mistakes of others; therefore that they dont really need to know too much about the past. Weve lost a certain realism about history that was stronger in the middle of the last century much stronger."
Link: http://www.radioopensource.org/dan-rodgers-age-of-fracture-a-different-country-now
Note: The interview isn't really four and a half hours long, despite the size of the mp3. It's only about 55 minutes. There's just three and a half hours of silence tacked onto the end!
=====
While listening to this interview, I was reminded once again of Adam Curtis' amazing documentary series Century of the Self. I can't recommend this series enough. You can watch all four parts online at http://archive.org/details/AdamCurtis_TheCenturyOfTheSelf.
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Age of Fracture : A Different Country Now (Original Post)
salvorhardin
Aug 2012
OP
It's nice to start a Sunday with some coffee and intereting discussion instead of
leeroysphitz
Aug 2012
#3
leeroysphitz
(10,462 posts)1. Thank you for passing on the interesting links. n/t
salvorhardin
(9,995 posts)2. You're welcome
I'm an obsessive intellectual pack rat so I couldn't stop if I wanted to.
leeroysphitz
(10,462 posts)3. It's nice to start a Sunday with some coffee and intereting discussion instead of
watching giant TV heads shouting towards each other.
ananda
(28,876 posts)4. I also highly rec Adam Curtis.
His films are very good.
salvorhardin
(9,995 posts)5. His blog at the BBC is excellent
It's like a mini-Curtis documentary in text and archival video clips once a month (or so). http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adamcurtis