Kurt Vonnegut's Last Stand: A Man Without a Country

[Karmadillo]

http://www.counterpunch.org/swanson12272005.html

Kurt Vonnegut's Last Stand
A Man Without a Country
By DAVID SWANSON

Kurt Vonnegut, at age 82, has published over two dozen books. His latest is called "A Man Without a Country." It's a book that is brutally honest in its hopelessness, in fact I think overly hopeless, and yet humorous. It may even be hopeless in order to better be humorous. Vonnegut discusses in the book the use of tragedy to heighten laughter. But certainly the humor works to lighten the load of dismay and despair that this book ever-so-lightly dumps on us.

"I know of very few people," Vonnegut writes, "who are dreaming of a world for their grandchildren." Later he writes this epitaph for the Earth: "The good Earth we could have saved it, but we were too damn cheap and lazy."

Vonnegut cannot be comforted with the fantasy that our destruction of the Earth is all part of some benevolent plan beyond our ken, because he doesn't believe such rubbish. "My parents and grandparents were humanists," he writes. "what used to be called Free Thinkers. So as a humanist I am honoring my ancestors, which the Bible says is a good thing to do. We humanists try to behave as decently, as fairly, and as honorably as we can without any expectation of rewards or punishments in an afterlife. My brother and sister didn't think there was one, my parents and grandparents didn't think there was one. It was enough that they were alive. We humanists serve as best we can the only abstraction with which we have any familiarity, which is our community."

<edit>

So, Kurt has no religion. But why does he say he has no country?

Well, there's this: "I myself feel that our country, for whose Constitution I fought in a just war, might as well have been invaded by Martians and body snatchers. Sometimes I wish it had been. What has happened instead is that it was taken over by means of the sleaziest, low-comedy, Keystone Cops-style coup d'etat imaginable."

more...

[Beetwasher]

1. KV is the Best

Simply the best. End of story.

[BlueEyedSon]

6. Seconded.

[EFerrari]

2. I stayed up on Christmas Eve and wolfed down this book.

All I can say is, I'm a lot closer to Kurt Vonnegut than I am to Al From. :eyes:

[Just Me]

10. All he does is point out what moral and ethical wimps we've become.

That gets to people who really are morally and ethically wimpy.

[EFerrari]

12. That's a good way to put it. I think that's right. n/t

[Just Me]

15. Thanks, sweetie ((HUG)). When we acknowledge and embrace,...

,...those who have sacrificed, are sacrificing on OUR behalf rather than those who exploit us on their behalf, we may take a step towards true revelation.

Today, we reward those who exploit rather than those who invest in our collective interests and future. We are driven to acquire "stuff" and "entertainment" rather than develop and cherish and reward those who contribute to the health of human relationships.

We live in a culture being fed with an obsession for shallow appearances and egocentric service rather than a commitment to improving common, human struggle and suffering. Spoon-fed delusion to a bottomless pit of dissatisfaction.

A good life and existence requires an investment and commitment to the whole, not just one's self IMHO. Funny how that position of sacrifice is labeled "socialist" by the politico hacks who demand the ultimate sacrifice of our military on THEIR behalf,...based upon pure rhetoric and bullshit. Some day, those demented buttheads will be left to themselves and live, alone, in their miserable lives.

[EFerrari]

38. Socialist, co-dependent, enablers -- many words to discourage

our community work.

Fuck 'em.

(Oh my, if this ex-Catholic girl is any measure, the opposition has been emboldened.)

:hug:

[ladjf]

21. Field mouse mentality.

[EST]

3. And I wouldn't say it is so if it weren't.

Man of truth, man of inspiration even when uninspiring.

[Just Me]

4. I read it. It evoked my whole range of emotions.

Yes. He does expose just how bad it's gotten.

Will we do anything without confronting just how bad the state of our affairs have become?

:shrug:

[Armstead]

5. I have mixed feelings about him

He brings out mixed feelings in me.

On one hand I admire his courage and willingness to be honest with no rose-colord glasses.

But I think his brand of despauir also leads to the complacency that prevents positive change.

If you believe that peopel are inherently fucked up, that all leaders are inhrently crazy and self-serving and that we are basically doomed, it eliminates the incentive to try and improve anything. That attitude among the "loyal opposition" merly helps to perpetuiate those in power.

I prefer to believe that as fucked up as we are,there is also a good side to people and society, and that some degree of hope is necessary for positive action, whether or not it is ultimately illusory.

[bpilgrim]

9. his voice has always given me hope

in that i am not alone, and that alone allows me to continue in this mad world.

peace

[Just Me]

11. He doesn't believe people are "inherently fucked up". He's a humanist,...

,...for crying out loud!!!

What disgusts him most is the U.S. goverment-sponsored delusion imposed on so many people. What frustrates him the most is the challenge of breaking through that delusion,...to the people. What pains him most is the strength of the psy-ops machine in power.

We ALL frustrate over those things and are passionate about breaking through such obstacles.

On edit: I believe it's a good and healthy thing to share our common struggle. What we must do from there is support and inspire one another to forge ahead in spite of all that. :hug:

[Armstead]

16. Diagnosis without solutions is negative

You're right that he is a humanist.

But his inherent belief that all institutions inevitably get fucked up is the problem I have with him. I've heard him in interviews when he's basically said "It doesn't matter who is a leader, they are inevtiably going to go wrong."

He's like Gore Vidal. They're both great at diagnposing what's wrong, but they don't offer any hope or antidotes. They put all effort at correctibe measures in the baket of false hope.

There may be elements of truth in that, but the sense I get from him more often than not is that it's all hopeless and useless, and there's no reason to try to do any bettr because everything will ultimately go wrong.

Sorry if that's too subjective an interpretation of him, but I believe anger and despairdoes not help unless it's followed by a belief that we can do better.

[Just Me]

17. Well, I think that, if we are going to learn from our history,....

,...we will face the fact that, we tend to allow the absolute fucking worse of human beings to float to the top because we DO want to indulge in stability and comfort rather than recognize the sacrifice necessary to sustain a good life.

His message isn't about everything being hopeless or useless.

His message is about how the ASSHOLES have managed to pacify so many good human beings. He's frustrated with that.

Aren't you?

At this point in history, it is no longer about US "doing better". It's about the ASSHOLES dragging the whole of us into a downward spiral and how we go about tackling that challenge and what we are willing to sacrifice to overcome such tyranny. Who among us are willing to sacrifice, at least, those before us to preserve what we have?

[newspeak]

20. come on

don't you know that shit always floats to the top?

[Just Me]

24. It does?

:7 I know I've stepped in a lot of it, on earth and beneath water. Honest.

[Armstead]

39. I prefer the tone of guys like Howard Zinn

Howard Zinn has seen as much shut a Vonnegut, and is just as tough in analyzinbg the darker side of our history and present.

However, he also hasn't given up hope, or given in to despair and nihilism. Intad he continues to insist on possibilities and to encourage activism to make things better.

Personally, I believe that's a much healthier and more constructive approach than to say that we're on the verge of extinction and deserve it.

Just a matter of personal taste I guess.

[gulliver]

41. I think he has said something like:

"We are here to help each other get through this thing." (Quoting his son.)

That's a solution.

[BikeWriter]

7. fuck...

[EFerrari]

13. That's IT? Just, "fuck . . ."

:)

[BikeWriter]

22. Yep, just fuck right now.

[Just Me]

14. Until we fight for the best among and in us,...fuck and fucked is US.

I don't know what else to say.

[BikeWriter]

23. The truth is bitter sometimes, and...

...will continue to be until our leadership changes.

[EFerrari]

25. All right. Until then, you need one of these.

And I guess some of these wouldn't hurt, either.

[BikeWriter]

26. Thank you, the LifeSavers are especially appreciated...

This is my first Christmas since the loss of my youngest Son, and it has done nothing to improve my PTSD.

[EFerrari]

27. I'm sorry, Bikewriter.

PTSD here, too. And also losses this year.

:hug:

[BikeWriter]

28. Life is a bitch, but still far better than the alternative.

:hug:

[EFerrari]

29. Termite shared this with me yesterday. He found it on Andy's

cell phone.

My niece says, "Life is not perfect" with all the musical intonation her flutist mom and sax guy dad have gifted to her. Fuck.

[BikeWriter]

31. Very cool picture!

[stevedeshazer]

34. That is awesome.

Thanks for posting it.

Andy lives on.

[BrklynLiberal]

36. wow. what a wonderful picture. Andy looks so great there.

[EFerrari]

37. Doesn't he? Quite a looker, our Andy.

He could charm leaves from trees with that smile.

:)

[bpilgrim]

8. "our soldiers are being treated like toys a rich kid got for christmas"

the most apt one liner i've heard to describe our troops current situation, from the king of one-liners.

if it wasn't for Kurt Vonnegut i would be 'normal' ;->

thanks for sharing :toast:

peace

[kliljedahl]

18. I bought that book the day it came out.

Read it it one sitting. I've read it three times since. Wonderful book & highly recommended.

My sig line at another site: "We are here on Earth to fart around. Don't let anybody tell you any different." - Kurt Vonnegut





Keith’s Barbeque Central

[newspeak]

19. no, no Kurt

it was taken over by the Lizard people from the smog infested, cannibalizing planet named "Kolob."

[petgoat]

30. So It Goes.

When I read Vonnegut thirty years ago it inspired in me the
belief that even if there is a God, we're probably better off
pretending there isn't and taking care of business ourselves.

He's not so despairing that he won't take action. He's endorsed
WorldCantWait:

http://www.worldcantwait.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=23&Itemid=20

Actually, given how little attention millions of people (me too)
were paying to the news, we're very lucky things aren't a lot worse.
And if we don't get busy (and organized!) in 2006 things WILL be a
lot worse!

[La_Fourmi_Rouge]

32. The Man Who Knows Too Much.

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. is a singular voice in the American lexicon. The David Letterman of American literature. "Welcome to the Monkey House" changed my life (the short story "Harrison Bergeron" evokes a world more chilling than that of "1984" or "Fahrenheit 451").

I think his work is informed by an acute sense of loss, as in Thomas Wolfe's "Look Homeward, Angel" :

"A stone, a leaf, an unfound door. Of a stone, a leaf, a door, and of all the forgotten faces.
Naked and alone we came into exile. In her dark womb we did not know our mother's face; from the prison of her flesh we have come into the unspeakable and incommunicable prison of this earth.
Which of us has known his brother? Which of us has looked into his father's heart? Which of us has not remained forever prison-pent? Which of us is not forever a stranger and alone?
O waste of loss, in the hot mazes, lost, among bright stars on this most weary unbright cinder, lost! Remembering speechlessly we seek the great forgotten language, the lost lane-end into heaven, a stone, a leaf, an unfound door. Where? When?
O lost, and by the wind grieved, ghost, come back again."

I really do not have enough superlatives to describe both his mastery of the language and his genuine humanity. When he dies, I swear, I'm gonna release the Ice-Nine.

[beingthere]

33. Lump in the throat, the tear in the eye, but truth from KV.

[BrklynLiberal]

35. I love Kurt Vonnegut. I hope he lives forever.

[AlienGirl]

40. Vonnegut's always been hopeless, but that's why he's so great

His books make light of that utter despair that is at the heart of every depressive, and that's both a relief and a confirmation that, yes, it really is that bad.

Tucker