So, I don't watch the guy. Mostly because he makes me mad. (I'm so articulate today, aren't I?)
But I recently read an article in Time magazine where they quoted him as having said
"Let me tell you something. I believe that if it were up to you or me, just regular schmoes in America, the Freedom Tower would have been done years ago. And it wouldn't have been the Freedom Tower; it would have been the Freedom Towers — because we would've built both of these towers back the way they were before! Except we would've built them stronger! We would've built them in a way that they would've resisted attack. And you know what? My guess is they would've been 25 stories taller, with a big, fat 'Come and Try That Again' sign on top. We would've built it with our bare hands if we had to, because that's what Americans do. When we fail, when we face a crisis, we pull ourselves up and make things better. I believe the only reason we haven't built it isn't because of Americans. It's because we're being held back. And who is holding us back? Politicians. Special-interest groups. Political correctness. You name it — everybody but you."
All I have to say about that is this:
I think it may have been true of the Americans of 150 years ago for sure, probably of those from 100 years back....maybe even 50. But it's not true of us now. We're waaaaaaaayyyyyy too lazy and conceited and self-satisfied to describe ourselves that way now.
You can watch his video on it here.
I'm wondering why he didn't address this rant to the Bush White House??
Monday, September 28, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Breastfeeding (YET again)
Articles like this one make me think. (Thanks AL :-)
They also make me get angry. There are two things that I get angry about in conjunction with the whole breastfeeding/formula debate.
The first one is important but not as personal for me, and has to do with America, its empire, and the business practices of American companies. I was thinking (just today, actually) about how interesting it is that in large measure the classification of a nation as "developing" from an American perspective largely means "able to be exploited for profit, either by stealing their resources or marketing to them in an underhanded way." I think that this article about the aggressive advertising/unjust pushing of formula by these companies illustrates that point. Why do we think we have the right? Just because we have more money. And why do we have more money? Because we have a strong military and enough financial clout (though at least this seems to be changing, to some extent) to land unfair advantages when it comes to our money dealings with these same countries!
The second on is far more personal and much more important to me, and has to do with women and their phenomenal capabilities that are to a huge extent undervalued. It's no secret that our world is a patriarchal one (with some really cool but really rare matriarchal exceptions that are fast being labeled "primitive" or just plain stamped out). The work that women do goes unnoticed by pretty much everyone but them (unless they have exceptional husbands and families....which I like to think I do ;-). The fact that a group of doctors, nutritionists, and businessmen all got together and decided that they would be able to convince the child-bearing population that they (the men) could do a mother's job of nurturing her child better than she can, just pisses me off. And reflects the larger problem of a masculinist society's denigration of a woman's work in general, aimed at creating a self-deprecating self-perception within her.
So stand up. Tell them they're wrong. Breastfeed your baby.
They also make me get angry. There are two things that I get angry about in conjunction with the whole breastfeeding/formula debate.
The first one is important but not as personal for me, and has to do with America, its empire, and the business practices of American companies. I was thinking (just today, actually) about how interesting it is that in large measure the classification of a nation as "developing" from an American perspective largely means "able to be exploited for profit, either by stealing their resources or marketing to them in an underhanded way." I think that this article about the aggressive advertising/unjust pushing of formula by these companies illustrates that point. Why do we think we have the right? Just because we have more money. And why do we have more money? Because we have a strong military and enough financial clout (though at least this seems to be changing, to some extent) to land unfair advantages when it comes to our money dealings with these same countries!
The second on is far more personal and much more important to me, and has to do with women and their phenomenal capabilities that are to a huge extent undervalued. It's no secret that our world is a patriarchal one (with some really cool but really rare matriarchal exceptions that are fast being labeled "primitive" or just plain stamped out). The work that women do goes unnoticed by pretty much everyone but them (unless they have exceptional husbands and families....which I like to think I do ;-). The fact that a group of doctors, nutritionists, and businessmen all got together and decided that they would be able to convince the child-bearing population that they (the men) could do a mother's job of nurturing her child better than she can, just pisses me off. And reflects the larger problem of a masculinist society's denigration of a woman's work in general, aimed at creating a self-deprecating self-perception within her.
So stand up. Tell them they're wrong. Breastfeed your baby.
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