We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Iranian Rhetoric and the History of the Cancer Analogy

Click here to access article by Nima Shirazi from his blog Wide Asleep in America

The author examines the use of rhetoric by Israeli and Iranian spokespeople, compares their respective usages in relation to reality, and provides an interesting review of the use of the cancer metaphor by various historical figures. This is a most perceptive analysis of how rhetoric can hide or reveal hideous truths.