President Trump: The NEW one and only politics thread

Oh, FFS.

 

That's an interesting take on it.

I'd still argue the story is about a progressive dystopia, much like Fahrenheit 451.

 

Oscar Madison-
Great post.
I too grow weary of trying to evaluate a sack of cow shit - he is not worth the effort and is what he is.
Trump has never achieved anything on his own ... and as such the self-made are truly whom he holds most in contempt.
Deep down he knows he is a schmuck and his father probably told him (and his other male siblings) this many times.

 

There are people on both political sides pushing ideas that Vonnegut and Bradbury were warning us about. Go back and re-read the descriptions of how the society developed in Fahrenheit 451. It has some strong parallels to things President Trump and his supporters are pushing, especially the drive to get people to ignore the media and only trust whatever they are shoveling out to the masses themselves. It's about government trying to take away the media's role in helping keep the government honest.

To say it it is only progressives pushing us toward the types of societies depicted in those books shows either dishonesty or a lack of understanding.

 

I am not saying you are wrong but I read 451 as warning about all that came with McCarthyism and the dangers of not allowing an educated masses. Though I am not in anyway pretending to be an expert I never felt that was taking shots at progressives. But it has been decades since I read it. I do think I remember Bradbury going crazy conservative later in life though so maybe interpretations changed.

 

Just looked it up. 50.4 percent to 47. That's doable with a solid candidate.

 

I have the 60th anniversary edition, which has an introduction written by Neil Gaiman. I liked his take on such things. "If someone tells you what a story is about, they are probably right. If they tell you that is all the story is about, they are very definitely wrong."

I'm sure Bradbury had one meaning in mind, but he was also probably smart enough to realize that people are going to see different things in it. In any type of creative writing, the reader is hopefully an active participant, taking in what the author shares and interpreting it through their own mindset.

To be fair, that is probably what Alma is doing. He has some misconceptions and biases against progressives, so that colors his perceptions. I'm sure my own biases play a role, too, but I see people on both sides politically pushing ideas and/or policies that could lead us closer to some of what Bradbury was warning us about.

There isn't one way to interpret either work and if Bradbury did change his own view on the book later in life, that doesn't mean his take on it is the only one worth considering.

 

Well, it's about censorship - objection to ideas deemed dangerous or offensive - and while McCarthy certainly trafficked in that, Bradbury understood anybody could. Today, the left absolutely does. Twitter is perfect for just that.

 

You think the left is the only place to find people trying to censor others. You're funny.

 

"Maybe businesses shouldn't give a public platform for people to say they want to murder Jews, blacks and Mexicans."

"CENSORSHIP! THOUGHT POLICE!"