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SHINING_FASCISTS

                                                June 16, 2011

                                                       ALL_THINGS_SHINING
"All Things Shining" is full of
hedging such as this:

"Our view is that nihilism is every bit as close-minded
as fanaticism, and that neither is a sufficient ground
on which to base a liveable life."
  -- p.21 "Our Contemporary Nihilism"

   This sort of thing sounds all very
   reasonable, and Dreyfus and Kelly
   are of course in the business of
   being Reasonable Men, so they prefer
   to take a reasonable tone.

   But why *aren't* they fanatics?  Don't their
   ideas lend themselves to fanaticism?  Nihilism
   is the great devil, and "nihilism" for them is
   the notion that each individual is free to
   choose how they will live.  There's a pantheon
   out there for those that have minds that are
   tuned up to percieve it, and the rest of us are
   all lost in the nihilistic wasteland.

   Just skim through "All Things
   Shining", and the things that
   you find praised are unthinking
   reflex and faith. Freedom and
   individuality are repeatedly
   dismissed.

   We're told we should feel
   gratitude that we exist, and
   display appreciation in the
   prescence of our betters,         Dreyfus and Kelly interpret the example of
   those whoosh-meisters (the        Helen to mean that faithless, adulterous
   uber-mensch?), who are above      behavior is okay *for her*, because she is
   normal laws because they are      one of the special ones, her erotic nature
   touched by the gods.              is a gift of the gods.

     If this is not a formula             This example works only because we
     for fascism, it certainly            now have some respect for the idea
     sounds like one. No wonder           of women's sexual freedom.  Is it
     Dreyfus and Kelly expend so          portable to other realms?  Is it
     much verbiage (I wouldn't            okay to kill if you're someone
     call it "thought") trying            who's really good at killing?
     to distance themselves from
     it.


                             (Be silent, curb your
                             thoughts, this is the
                             work of the Ivy League.)



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