The decline and fall of western civilization measured one ounce of dihydrogen monoxide at a time:
America at its industrial peak? Manhattan Mad Men enjoying three martini lunches and only slightly embarrassed about the bottle of scotch in the bottom drawer of their office desk.
America in the era of hope and change and financial meltdowns? “The mayor will be the first to admit that he occasionally indulges in bottled water. It’s not something he’s proud of.”
Update: “If you don’t sip, you must acquit.”
More: Don Surber on twists and turns of the New Puritanism:
Let’s see, abortion is OK. Gay marriage is OK. Smoking pot is OK.
Drinking water is something to be ashamed of?
William Burroughs’ aphorism, which neatly summed up a generation of boomer-era nihilists was, “Nothing is true, everything is permitted.”
But a bottle of Evian? That’s ever so gauche, old sport.
PJM Home
Pajamas Media appreciates your comments that abide by the following guidelines:
1. Avoid profanities or foul language unless it is contained in a necessary quote or is relevant to the comment.
2. Stay on topic.
3. Disagree, but avoid ad hominem attacks.
4. Threats are treated seriously and reported to law enforcement.
5. Spam and advertising are not permitted in the comments area.
The clause regarding "hate speech" has been deleted because readers criticized it as being too loosely defined. We agreed.
These guidelines are very general and cannot cover every possible situation. Please don't assume that Pajamas Media management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment. We reserve the right to filter or delete comments or to deny posting privileges entirely at our discretion. If you feel your comment was filtered inappropriately, please email us at story@pajamasmedia.com.
9 Comments
1. Vodkapundit » Sad Men:[...] it’s shameful, just not in the way he thinks it [...]
Feb 24, 2009 - 11:41 am 2. Valjean:Religions have plenty of arbitrary rules.
The modern environmental movement has it all: sins (including original), heretics, commandments, ostracism, confessions, indulgences, tithing, prophets, high priests (of unquestioned authority), blind faith, and guilt by the sackful.
I’m really surprised they don’t acknowledge their rich and varied historical betters.
Feb 24, 2009 - 1:50 pm 3. Joe Hooker:Burroughs may have repeated it, but the quote comes from Hassan-i-Sabah, master of the Assassins.
http://www.phinnweb.org/neuro/assassins.html
Feb 24, 2009 - 3:20 pm 4. Ed Driscoll:Joe,
Believe it or not, I actually knew that, but when Googling around, I tripped over a page saying that there’s at least a little debate as to how much Burroughs invented, or at the least “evolved” the quote. So I figured I’d play it safe and credit Burroughs rather his purported original source.
Feb 24, 2009 - 3:49 pm 5. QQQ - Maggie's Farm:[...] Burroughs, as quoted at Driscoll (nb: a QQQ doesn’t mean we agree with it) Posted by Bird Dog in Quotidian Quotable Quote [...]
Feb 25, 2009 - 6:11 am 6. Suzy:Valjean–you nailed it. What Mayor Gavin shows is how hypocritical this movement really is.
Feb 25, 2009 - 6:38 am 7. Eric:I think it’s more that food & sex have reversed their roles (see Mary Eberstadt’s article in Policy Review).
Feb 25, 2009 - 1:53 pm 8. Ed Driscoll » Purity Of Essence:[...] his post linking to our item earlier this week on San Francisco’s mayor expressing guilt and requesting penitence at [...]
Feb 28, 2009 - 1:35 am 9. Nbhpflrg:jo9g9D comment5 ,
Jun 23, 2009 - 3:34 pmSorry, comments for this entry are closed at this time.