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R. E. Allen trans w/ (minor) commentary

"Proving oneself in the free arena of competition is the test of manhood, truth, and political wisdom. And this is always, in the end, a way of proving oneself to /oneself/. The striver can never stop striving. It is because Nixon is so totally this sweaty moral self-doubting self-made bustling brooding type, that he represents the integral liberalism that once animated America and now tries to reassert itself."

"Every American is told that this land guarantees him 'opportunity'; if he fails, it is his own fault—so he must not fail. Yet if he succeeds, it must be as a 'common man', one who moved out from an equal starting place. He must start the race again every day, doubt past achievement, justify his success by repeating it.As Wilson put it, he must forsake 'connections' and rely only on 'character' for his moral credit."

"The competitive ethic makes us think of any American as 'on our team' when we are competing abroad, with other countries, but reduces that same American to a rival, a potential enemy, in our domestic competition, our struggles against each other in the marketplace; so that patriotism is degraded from love of countrymen to mere hatred of foes, mere xenophobia."

inimitable

Skipping through...

The White Album 3/5
James Pike 2/5
Holy Water 4/5
Many Mansions 3/5
The Getty 5/5
Bureaucrats 2.5/5
Good Citizens 4/5
Georgia O'Keefe 5/5

reading self-reliance and nature, maybe friendship

reacquainting myself with that old habit of actively reading like 5 books at the same time

Liberation Day: 4/5

ch 14! masterful blend of horror and comedy. the chapter centered less on Bulgakov's political or societal critiques, and put all its chips into telling a good story. segments like this, and the first few chapters (jesus... streetcar... sunflower oil.....), will rattle around my brain forever.

i also love Ginsburg's alternate translation of the chapter title: "Glory to the Cock!"

eugenics chapter reached!

oh lulu while i love your podcasts i am sadly growing repulsed by your writing style

avenging the disregard i gave to (almost) all my COLLEGE101 readings

this book should be a play but also without satisfactory special effects it wouldnt live up to saunders’s vivid unique macabre description