From TPM Reader LG …
One of the most insightful things I ever read from you was this, about the Iraq War/GWOT:
“For its prime promoters and cheerleaders and now-dwindling body of defenders, the war and all its ideological and literary trappings have always been an exercise in moral-historical dress-up for a crew of folks whose times aren’t grand enough to live up to their own self-regard and whose imaginations are great enough to make up the difference.”
I wonder if something of the same phenomenon isn’t in evidence now in reactions to the economic situation. No one believes this isn ‘t a very serious mess, but “Great Depression II !!!” seems extreme, to say nothing of historically uninformed. I can’t help but think that some of that same narcissism you identified earlier might be at work here as well.
I think we’re in a genuine crisis. One that is immediate and an overlapping one that is going to stretch far into the future. But we all, and I don’t exclude myself, must be ever wary of the way our own egos and excessive regard for our own short moment in history (which is an extension of our egos) can become a distorting lens.
