let's play "who's your favorite dictator?"
okay, sorry to ramble on about russian literature, i just think this is so cool (and i post here for its direct relevance to things going on today in the US; there are many other not so relevant cool things).
maximilian voloshin was a russian symbolist poet who appealed "in the days of revolutions to be a human, not a citizen", "in the disturbances of wars to realize the oneness. To be not a part, but all: not from one side, but from the both ones". [from wikipedia]
this is an excerpt from one of his poems:
Both here and there, among the ranks,
one voice alone can be heard:
"Who is not for us is against us. [bold added]
There are no neutrals. Truth is with us."
And I stand alone among them
In the roaring flame and smoke
And with all the strength that I have
Say a prayer for them both.
i'm not sure when the poem was written, but voloshin died in 1932, just to give an idea of the general time period. now, from this poem it seems that we can deduce that statements such as "You're either with us or against us in the fight against terror" [Bush, 2001] are common, and that they have been recited by polarized people probably for centuries. it's really too bad that bush didn't study up on his pinko commie russian poetics, but i suppose it's to be expected- it runs contrary to politics, particularly the brand of polarizing politics he is fond of. voloshin, living in communist russia, had his work banned and censored for simply expressing neutral sentiments. in russia, if you were not a model communist citizen, working fast towards the ultimate Goal and Purpose of communism, you were shot dead or put in the gulag. socialist realism (mainly the only style of literature permitted by the state) did not allow for what was called "the superfluous man", who did not work positively and enthusiastically towards communism. in essence, "who is not for us is against us" is the defining sentiment of communist russia. ergo, george w bush is pinko commie scum.
maximilian voloshin was a russian symbolist poet who appealed "in the days of revolutions to be a human, not a citizen", "in the disturbances of wars to realize the oneness. To be not a part, but all: not from one side, but from the both ones". [from wikipedia]
this is an excerpt from one of his poems:
Both here and there, among the ranks,
one voice alone can be heard:
"Who is not for us is against us. [bold added]
There are no neutrals. Truth is with us."
And I stand alone among them
In the roaring flame and smoke
And with all the strength that I have
Say a prayer for them both.
i'm not sure when the poem was written, but voloshin died in 1932, just to give an idea of the general time period. now, from this poem it seems that we can deduce that statements such as "You're either with us or against us in the fight against terror" [Bush, 2001] are common, and that they have been recited by polarized people probably for centuries. it's really too bad that bush didn't study up on his pinko commie russian poetics, but i suppose it's to be expected- it runs contrary to politics, particularly the brand of polarizing politics he is fond of. voloshin, living in communist russia, had his work banned and censored for simply expressing neutral sentiments. in russia, if you were not a model communist citizen, working fast towards the ultimate Goal and Purpose of communism, you were shot dead or put in the gulag. socialist realism (mainly the only style of literature permitted by the state) did not allow for what was called "the superfluous man", who did not work positively and enthusiastically towards communism. in essence, "who is not for us is against us" is the defining sentiment of communist russia. ergo, george w bush is pinko commie scum.