tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763772100015353700.post1538809913275512713..comments2023-10-11T14:18:03.816+01:00Comments on Works Well: Painful changeRoderick Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16828395545197001637noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763772100015353700.post-54465860767212891322011-02-15T08:57:16.221+00:002011-02-15T08:57:16.221+00:00Birthers are people who believe Obama was not born...Birthers are people who believe Obama was not born in the U.S.Hattiehttp://hattie.typepad.com/hatties_web/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763772100015353700.post-151161474200638672011-02-14T11:15:37.468+00:002011-02-14T11:15:37.468+00:00Avus: No problem with individuals. What I'm co...Avus: No problem with individuals. What I'm concerned about is the way my view of the USA as a whole has changed. And there's a further problem: were I to visit today I would be doing so as an outsider not, as then, as an insider. The mental conflict is subtle but insidious and it is why I held back from this particular confession until, in effect, challenged by Duchess Omnium who is American but long resident in Britain.Roderick Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16828395545197001637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763772100015353700.post-5261355803990427452011-02-13T21:25:36.935+00:002011-02-13T21:25:36.935+00:00I followed Avus' link, and was richly rewarded...I followed Avus' link, and was richly rewarded.The Crowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04846997590157958766noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763772100015353700.post-20405013507928822022011-02-13T19:00:34.213+00:002011-02-13T19:00:34.213+00:00As the Crow says, the pendulum swings - always wil...As the Crow says, the pendulum swings - always will and never stops ("Cities, thrones and powers" and all that)<br />But on an individual basis people remain the same down the ages - same hopes and fears, loves and hates, getting and spending.<br />Wang Shih Chi expressed it well some 1,700 years ago. See:<br />http://little-corner-of-the-earth.blogspot.com/2007/01/at-orchard-pavilion.htmlAvushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16512540148378201058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763772100015353700.post-50793990309476631182011-02-13T09:27:59.569+00:002011-02-13T09:27:59.569+00:00The Crow: The point is if I were to return it woul...The Crow: The point is if I were to return it would be as a tourist, not as someone who could wriggle down into the comfort zone of the suburbs. Thus I would still be remote, as I am now.<br /><br />Plutarch: I agree. The USA is large enough and diverse enough to contain a completely different part of the social/political spectrum. But that isn't the bit that gets reported over here and, after a while, one finds oneself going with the flow.<br /><br />RW (zS): I'm aware how you've written about Japan in the past so I know this is a big, sad thing for you.<br /><br />Hattie: Too enigmatic for me, I fear.Roderick Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16828395545197001637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763772100015353700.post-30661061939762770272011-02-11T20:49:17.944+00:002011-02-11T20:49:17.944+00:00I love living in Hawaii. Some people even regard H...I love living in Hawaii. Some people even regard Hawaii as part of the U.S. Except the birthers, that is.Hattiehttp://hattie.typepad.com/hatties_web/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763772100015353700.post-84517015281719736662011-02-11T18:27:37.809+00:002011-02-11T18:27:37.809+00:00Similar feelings about Japan are lodged in my hear...Similar feelings about Japan are lodged in my heart. The people I met on the island of Kyushu were open and friendly and caring, so unlike the Japanese businessman and the cold fashion-conscious shopper-ladies one is exposed to in the media. During the time I lived there, I heard honest talk about the government and the educational system there. But that was almost two decades ago, and I must admit that I too would be hard-pressed to step aboard a Tokyo-bound aeroplane.Rouchswalwehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01393987883437907945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763772100015353700.post-75630860873318826182011-02-11T17:25:35.755+00:002011-02-11T17:25:35.755+00:00I can't help sharing your views and those whic...I can't help sharing your views and those which The Crow reflects, but there remains a vestige of the American dream in all of us. I once quoted Whitman to you when you pulled me up for contradicting myself. Writing of America Whitman said:<br />"Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself.<br />I am large. I contain multitudes".<br />There seems to me to be hope in that very multitudinous.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06972049290586377462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763772100015353700.post-35008948176081959492011-02-11T15:53:37.072+00:002011-02-11T15:53:37.072+00:00Now, see, that wasn't so bad, was it?
Oddly e...Now, see, that wasn't so bad, was it?<br /><br />Oddly enough, there are a great many of us Americans who hold views very similar to yours. We watch the goings on with sadness and dismay, sort of like watching a dear relative going through a nervous breakdown, and not knowing what will help or what might make things worse.<br /><br />The political pendulum swings back and forth, so others' perceptions of us will, as well. I'm just worried the pendulum will someday stop swinging.The Crowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04846997590157958766noreply@blogger.com