John's Blog

It was great to see Kurt Vonnegut last night on The Daily Show. Jon Stewart put it well when he said "As an adolescent, he made my life bearable." His list of Liberal Crap I Never Want To Hear Again was a bit disappointing. Like his books, I guess I prefer his older stuff. The preview of A Man Without A Country looks interesting, and I'm sure I'll get it...at some point. Another excuse to shop eBay. Till then, a sample of an older piece:

Many years ago, I was so innocent I still considered it possible that we could become the humane and reasonable America so many members of my generation used to dream of. We dreamed of such an America during the Great Depression, when there were no jobs. And then we fought and often died for that dream during the Second World War, when there was no peace.

But I know now that there is not a chance in hell of America’s becoming humane and reasonable. Because power corrupts us, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Human beings are chimpanzees who get crazy drunk on power. By saying that our leaders are power-drunk chimpanzees, am I in danger of wrecking the morale of our soldiers fighting and dying in the Middle East? Their morale, like so many bodies, is already shot to pieces. They are being treated, as I never was, like toys a rich kid got for Christmas.