dagblog - Comments for "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: A Liberal Anthem for our Time"

Thanks for your thoughtful

leslie — Mon, 02 May 2011 17:45:47 +0000

Thanks for your thoughtful response. I didn't reply right away because your question made me think, plus I had to rewatch Dirty Harry.

So here's why I think, in these two cases, liberal anti-establishment heroes and libertarians are demonstrably different.

1) At the beginning of their respective stories: McMurphy has broken the law and is doing time, while Callahan, trying to operate within the rules of the system, falls from innocence and learns that the system has no interest in protecting him.

2) Coming from these two different starting positions, I would argue that McMurphy seeks to reform a broken system (returning democracy to the ward, seeking to masculinize and empower his fellow inmates), while Callahan rejects the system and responds to its covert hostility by turning vigilante. Contact with a repressive, messed-up system turns McMurphy from renegade into activist, Callahan from pawn into renegade.

3) Chief's fate? After flying the coop, do we imagine him going Dirty Bromden, arming himself for revenge on institutional authority? Or seeking, by other avenues, to fix it? I imagine him, following his return to sanity, reconnecting with his people, his identity, and community--in other words, connecting to his true source of personal power.

Thanks again for identifying a crux point that my essay left open and unaddressed.

Thanks for your comment.

leslie — Sun, 01 May 2011 22:39:49 +0000

In reply to My mom worked at the VA in

Thanks for your comment. Have you and your mom read Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test? I wonder how it measures up to fact. I like Bernie Sanders too :)

I'm sure you're right. In

arc400 — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 23:35:24 +0000

In reply to Oh yeah, I remember that one.

I'm sure you're right. In any case, it was going back to July 2009, re Elena Kagan's appointment.

Oh yeah, I remember that one.

Michael Wolraich — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 20:40:54 +0000

In reply to From a link on the now

Oh yeah, I remember that one. Articleman's post.

From a link on the now

leslie — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 19:18:03 +0000

In reply to Oh jeezle, another Canadian.

From a link on the now defunct underneaththeirrobes. My fortuity.

Oh jeezle, another Canadian.

Michael Wolraich — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 04:30:53 +0000

In reply to I looked up Top 40

Oh jeezle, another Canadian. You people breed like arctic hares. ;) I'm sorry to have sucked you back into U.S. politics. It's not a pleasant place.

Arthur Dent--funny. I'd go with the Notes from the Underground guy.

How'd you find us, btw?

This is just a great story

Richard Day — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 22:21:25 +0000

In reply to My mom worked at the VA in

This is just a great story Bwak. My goodness.

Tell us more someday!

I looked up Top 40

leslie — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 19:08:04 +0000

In reply to I second Richard. A fine

I looked up Top 40 anti-heroes. My favourites include: Leopold Bloom, Holden Caulfield, and Arthur Dent. According to my source, anti-heroes are basically humanized villains, with an inclination toward decadence, amorality, and violence, tempered by so-called 'virtues' like confusion and self-loathing (Why didn't Nathan Zuckerman make the list?) My definition of an anti-(establishment)-hero is less literary and more personal: someone whose libido is plugged into life. [I'd love to see the Left get hard and wet over Progress.]

Thanks, btw, for dagblog. I moved to Canada in 2000 and got disconnected from U.S. politics, until subscribing to dagblog last January brought me home.

Thanks for your heartfelt

leslie — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 19:01:05 +0000

In reply to Ever so often I get so damn

Thanks for your heartfelt comments. It's good to be in great company.

Excellent essay. I

Elusive Trope — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 17:46:16 +0000

In reply to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: A Liberal Anthem for our Time

Excellent essay. I especially like the comparison of today's liberals to Chief.

One thing that does pop into my mind, however, is that because of the 60's, we tend to think that those who identify with anti-establishment individuals are coming from a liberal paradigm. But as some of those in the recent ranting of the libertarians and tea party folks clearly show, anti-establishment sentiments is not the exclusive domain of liberals. A case in point would be the very popular film Dirty Harry released 4 years earlier. Here the audienced identified with the very anti-establishment Harry, who thumbed his nose the bureaucratic powers to be and took matters into his own hands to deal with the bad guys.