“One of them is the country of Uncle Sam... an America, in the words of Herman Melville, ‘intrepid, unprincipled, reckless, predatory, with boundless ambition, civilized in the externals but savage at heart.' The other is its blessed double, home of heroes and clowns and of the cheerful and welcoming democratic collective — ‘the place where I was born.’ For all of my romantic Satanism and the satisfaction I took and still take in the doctrine of original sin, it is this second America to which I feel culturally and temperamentally attuned."
May 3, 2016
"As a graduate student... he graded what he called a 'so-so' exam by a young John F. Kennedy and the English assignments of 'an intense, hungry-looking' Norman Mailer."
From the obituary of Daniel Aaron — "Critic and Historian Who Pioneered American Studies" — who has died at the age of 103 and who "described himself as 'a citizen of two Americas'":
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7 comments:
The so-so exam by Jack Kennedy is easily explained. Ted Sorensen was busy that day.
That's pretty good. Thinking about it, I have a foot in both camps.
Aaron had a big soul and a full lifespan. He has my congratulations for a life well lived.
The democratic collective and Uncle Sam are one and the same. Don't mean to speak ill of the dead, this one in particular, but it takes an intellectual to kid himself about the difference.
Rob beat me to it!
I would be ashamed to admit that I had anything to do with a topic as fatuous as "American Studies."
The democratic collective is today a dystopian version of the former republic, which was founded on governmental respect under law for the rights of the individual.
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