Sunday, August 16, 2009

out of fairness to Europeans...

I'll continue, at least for a while, to write from El Paso, Texas under the Wien heading,
since I have fresh memories of Europe....

Yesterday I had a long conversation with my older sister.

During the conversation it emerged that she is cynical in exactly the way my former
students in Vienna were...

And, out of fairness, it is important for me to acknowledge that.

Cynical in what way?

Cynical in the way that she doubts the motives of anyone with political opinions.

Cynical in the sense that she thinks it is pointless to be in any way or at any level
engaged in political activities.

But, the disturbing element for me is that she enjoys a level of comfort not enjoyed
by most of the world's inhabitants....

so for us, who are so comfortable, it is part of our comfort to do nothing.....

Am I better?  

Well, my sister seems to doubt the very foundation of democracy:   the ability of ordinary people to make wise moral decisions.

I admit this is a difficult question, but I am not convinced that ordinary people are incapable of making wise decisions.  Of course, if they have been manipulated by the media, then they are at a severe disadvantage.

No comments:

Post a Comment