Test your knowledge: when was this written?

[Mairead]

And for extra points, by whom and in what document.

He hadn't lost his contempt for their attitudes on almost everything. They supported free enterprise for the poor and socialized subsidies for the rich. They insisted on your right to die if you didn't have enough money to afford expensive private medical treatment. ... You had a right to good transportation if you had the price of a Cadillac; Tucson had no public transportation.

[buycitgo]

1. who could be stupider, more grammaticlally/syntactically ignorant

than our simp in chief, right?

sounds like something an ignoramus would write as a college exercise, but knowing him, it was probably written in business school or later.

no idea when.

sure would like to get some examples of his studies at Harvard

never, ever heard anything about those days, except he used to pop bubble gum and make ignorant remarks in large seminar classes

[drb]

2. Sounds like Edward Abbey to me....

nt

[SheilaT]

3. The end phrase about Tucson

leads me to believe it was written some time prior to the mid-60s or so. Tucson had public busses by then (not sure when they actually started) but it wasn't an adequate public transportation system. It's gotten a lot better in recent years, and seems to be well used.

I used to live in Tucson and actually took the bus on occasion back in 1967 and 68. Now when I visit I see busses everywhere.

[kayell]

4. I know I've read that part about free enterprise for the poor and

socialism for the rich. Gore Vidal?

[mike1963]

5. Goldwater maybe? 63~.....I have no idea really

...

[Ksec]

6. dont know

maybe smirk?

[kayell]

7. The Grapes of Wrath?

But Tucson wasn't along the road they took was it? Western geography very fuzzy, sorry.

[depakid]

8. Hayduke lives!

I've lost my copy of the Monkey Wrench Gang (1973), so I can't be sure, but that sounds and awful lot like George Washington Hayduke to me! :evilgrin:

[Mairead]

9. Sorry for the delay, folks: I was in Coventry

Thanks your your guesses.

It actually comes from "Death Wish" by Brian Garfield, copyright 1972.

I was struck, re-reading the book for the first time in years, by how totally intractable the problem seems to be. A whole generation later and not one damn' thing has changed. Actually, 'intractable' feels too benign a term. The reality seems to be that we're losing ground against the selfish.

There's another passage in there that seems to describe us and explain why we're not making any progress. I don't have the book in my hand right now, so I'll have to paraphrase:

We don't go mad and start bumping off the bad guys, or even take our protests to the streets and smash up corporate offices. We don't act out our rage and terror at all. Instead we defend ourselves against those upsetting emotions by repressing them and pretending that the bad stuff isn't really happening, or if it's happening it's not as bad as people say, and we do all sorts of displacement activity (like spending time on the Internet :)) to drain off the negative energy that being around really so much really bad stuff produces in us. The sad part is that we might well be healthier and the world better off if we did act out.

Your views?