Blanc writes:
Responding to msg by Jim choate, quoting another:
We might also add Shay's Rebellion, Bacon's Rebellion, the Hudson River Renters' Uprising, the Pullman Strike, the Homestead Strike, the Ludlow Massacre, the Lawrence Textile Strikes, etc., etc. Many of these were full-scale insurrections. This country's "progress" is really just a series of grudging concessions made by authoritarian power structures to various nearly catastrophic crises.
I have a hard time comparing any of these histricaly important but comparatively minor events to the half a million dead of the Civil War or the 50,000+ dead of Vietnam. Perhaps you have extended the analogy a little too far?... ..........................................................
I think he was talking about the Principle of the deal, Jim - about what this means regarding the relationship of the citizenry to the big G. Put all of those insurrections together and what do they spell?
F _ _ _ _ _ F
Blanc is right. You are correct, Jim, in that in terms of destruction, the wars you mention surpass in magnitude the other events that I listed (though I'll point out that if we count Indochinese dead, Vietnam's cost was far higher than 55,000, even if we add in the more than 60,000 who committed suicide in the aftermath). What I am really saying is that we are not, even in "normal" times, the slightly rambunctious but contented citizenry that popular mythology makes us out to be. This country has serious problems, and it always has. I think that we may be in agreement on this. Another good point that you've made elsewhere is the importance of economics as a motivator. I believe that you are exactly right. I'd like to add more, and also to say something about the perceptive comments from John Young, but I think I have a flu, so I'll go home and pick this up again on Monday. Meanwhile, wishing you all a good weekend. . . . - Mark - -- Mark Chen chen@netcom.com 415/329-6913 finger for PGP public key D4 99 54 2A 98 B1 48 0C CF 95 A5 B0 6E E0 1E 1D