Culture
The Web is wonderful. I was about to post on something I had read, that had argued for the denial for people to act on their own, on the grounds that they should adhere to their 'culture'. (This silly little country is prone to such discussions.)So I was going to start with the tired (but usable in a variety of ways) "When I hear the word 'culture' I reach for my gun."
And I think - Is it really Goebbels? Or who was it?
Off to Googledom.
And I find this wonder from Umberto Eco:
Hmmm. Goering not Goebbels. and not quite into Godwin's Law.
Distrust of the intellectual world has always been a symptom of Ur-Fascism, from Hermann Goering's fondness for a phrase from a Hanns Johst play ("When I hear the word 'culture' I reach for my gun") to the frequent use of such expressions as "degenerate intellectuals," "eggheads," "effete snobs," and "universities are nests of reds."
Moreover it did not mean remotely what I would have liked to use it for. My view is that 'culture' is one of those words that lies behind the most blatant rent-seeking.
Goering's problem is a little different (perhaps there will be a later post on how much, but I am now rattled by my near-lifelong belief that it was Goebbels).
Well, I have to go off and think some more.
The Web is really a wonder.
To clarify some things. I don't have a gun to reach for. I don't work in a University. I may be effete. Perhaps a snob. My head is shaped strangely, perhaps not like an egg.
As for 'culture'. I like to think of myself as a member of the PLO but occasionally I deviate and I worry that its lead member might come and tell me I have to stick to my defined culture. I am meeting the fearless leader soon so I should know more then.
OK better go off and think.
posted by Alan Adamson @ 7:45 PM
1 Comments:
No worries, Alan! The main tenet of the PLO is that you get to do what you want and not be sneered at by others who don't share your tastes. So if you want to see the ELO doing tunes from Tosca, more power to you!
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