Essay response: War as Fiction

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

'If the Second World War was a conflict between two amateur painters, Churchill and Hitler, the current war in Iraq is the struggle between two authors of fiction.'

The new essay on the Momus website.

― Momus (Momus), Saturday, 22 March 2003 13:43 (twenty-three years ago)

Full-spectrum dissent.

― Momus (Momus), Saturday, 22 March 2003 13:44 (twenty-three years ago)

the state is a useless fiction

― the hegemon, Saturday, 22 March 2003 13:58 (twenty-three years ago)

I think it's beyond any doubt that Bush and Co. are involved in an entirely new project which is aimed at bringing every country on earth (Iraq, North Korea, Iran) within the direct control of US-led financial institutions. It reminds me of the Ridley plan, which was the project devised by the Conservative party at the end of the 70s to destroy all industrial opposition to a complete deregulation of public-run UK, by taking on in turn the steel, rail and mining unions and opening the way to privatisation of all puiblic services. The consequences of this scheme are with us today in the form of rail crashes, BSE and on and on. One curiosity is whether of not Blair is complicit in the US' scheme, because it was the success of Thatcherism in dominating the ideological debate throughout the 80s that enabled the hijacking of the Labour Party by people who had never had any prior conection with the Left. Is Blair's vision which he outlined at the last but one party Conference, of freedom, peace and security stretching from Afghanistan to I can't remember where, synonymous with Bush's stated objective of health and wealth for US citizens, with no mention of anyone else? I can't decide if Blair is essentially imbecilic, pernicious or demagogic.

Another interesting quesion is that of Cuba. The Bush administration has said little about this state, not including it in their 'Axis of Evil'. Presumably this is because they know that as soon as Castro dies, it will be theirs for the taking.

― Gatinha (rwillmsen), Saturday, 22 March 2003 14:23 (twenty-three years ago)

This is a good redescription of the war, M.

Couple of points: "His version of 'charm' must be a severely local one. Perhaps it's restricted to Texas." This is the kind of snobbery that spoils a lot of your ideas for people who don't share your sensibility. I knew a few people who voted for Dubya, not from Texas, who given the choice between Gore and Bush, voted for the one who seemed the most down-to-earth. This is a type of charm, even though it's not to your taste.

"the purpose of power is to make the fictional whimsies that cross the minds of the powerful into realities". I think by using the word fiction in your essay there's the kind-of-implication that these kooky daydreamers are too irresponsible for power! Give it back to the sensible bureaucrats who can be relied not to go off the rails! Except, America has always been an experimental fiction. Lots of people felt Thomas Jefferson was an irresponsible daydreamer too... So how does one distinguish between better or worse "fictional whimsies"?

― Jerry the Nipper (Jerrynipper), Saturday, 22 March 2003 19:39 (twenty-three years ago)

Well, how about by the number of people they kill?

Historians have sometimes tried to calculate the actual numbers of people who died as a direct result of the actions of dictators like Pol Pot and Stalin. But has anyone tried to calculate how many people died because of works of literature? For instance, how many people died prematurely because of The Bible? Or 'Das Kapital'? And how will the slim volume 'The Project for the New American Century' rank next to killer books like those? Do you think more than a million people will die as a result of the ideas contained in 'The Project For The New American Century'?

― Momus (Momus), Saturday, 22 March 2003 19:45 (twenty-three years ago)

Unfortunately you can't make your judgement on numbers killed before you buy the book - as lots of well-meaning Communists discovered in the last century! Good ideas are dangerous, and people often feel that they are worth the gamble. In this case - a gamble that we might kill thousands of innocent Iraqis is worth it for the promise of global security. (As the many thousands who died in the Civil War was worth it for emancipation).

I agree with you! But I'm not sure on what basis we can "this is a bad film" quite yet.

― Jerry the Nipper (Jerrynipper), Saturday, 22 March 2003 19:51 (twenty-three years ago)

Frum is the son of a broadcaster and promient leftist, who abonded the cause of his mother, i mean she was left for canada, the qausi socialsit republic, always meant to figure out what that meant.

― anthony easton (anthony), Saturday, 22 March 2003 19:54 (twenty-three years ago)

Yoko Ono after 9/11 re: Bush approval rating polls -- she said something like 'I don't believe these polls. No one ever called me to ask me what i think.'

― geeta (geeta), Saturday, 22 March 2003 19:58 (twenty-three years ago)

off to the latest NYC rally! i'm late, they must've reached Washington Sq Park by now

― geeta (geeta), Saturday, 22 March 2003 19:59 (twenty-three years ago)

voted for the one who seemed the most down-to-earth. This is a type of charm, even though it's not to your taste.

Down to fucking scorched earth, more like!

I was charmed by the 'policy wonk' who served as the model for the 'preppy' in 'Love Story' and ended up joining the board of Apple.

― Momus (Momus), Saturday, 22 March 2003 20:13 (twenty-three years ago)

A good piece of pragmatic criticism of the motion picture 'American Primacy' (I linked to this before as a pdf, but I found a html version here, and I think people might find it interesting).
http://www.u-grenoble3.fr/ciesimsa/ateliers/a11/art11-15.html

― Jerry the Nipper (Jerrynipper), Saturday, 22 March 2003 20:25 (twenty-three years ago)

i'm off to flick between cnn and bbc - which seem to be showing the same things at the same time...

― Clare (not entirely unhappy), Sunday, 23 March 2003 04:27 (twenty-three years ago)

Michael Moore obviously read Momus's essay!

Moore, who invited his fellow Oscar nominees on stage with him, said: "Fictitious election results that elect a fictitious president... mean we have a man sending us to war for fictitious reasons - shame on you Mr Bush."

― Jerry the Nipper (Jerrynipper), Monday, 24 March 2003 11:54 (twenty-three years ago)

Michael Moore obviously read Momus's essay!

Oh, you know, we "talk".

He was actually doing a bit of secret promo for my new album, 'Oscars Peace Champion'.

― Momus (Momus), Monday, 24 March 2003 13:54 (twenty-three years ago)

I just don't like the basic metaphor. The temptation to see politics or morality as analagous to art - and therefore to be judged by aesthetic or quasi-aesthetic criteria - is a dangerous one. It was this that made so many artists pre WW2 extremists of the far right or far left and aided the rise of fascism in particular. Beauty and morality are not the same thing and we pretend otherwise at our peril.

― ArfArf, Monday, 24 March 2003 17:02 (twenty-three years ago)

Nipper, you should tell those pals of yours where to go. They sound like bastards to me.

― the pinefox, Tuesday, 25 March 2003 14:06 (twenty-three years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.