Aug 19, 2004

the things they dropped

This summer I read In the Lake of the Woods and The Things They Carried, by Tim O'Brien. From the latter work, I quote:
In many cases a true war story cannot be believed. If you believe it, be skeptical. It's a question of credibility. Often the crazy stuff is true and the normal stuff isn't, because the normal stuff is necessary to make you believe the truly incredible craziness.

I was going to blog about comparing the Swift Boat Veterans' slime-fest with the former novel, but why bother? A right-wing crank has already baked up a screed that I completely disagree with. Read it, and, whenever he attempts to make an inference, draw a conclusion, or support an opinion, simply say, along with the only Marx worth quoting: Whatever it is, I'm against it.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I remember that quotation. It became a rally and literal point for my class--as well as an excuse for not doing the reading. A good misuse for a good quotation*.







*We also learned about the difference between quotes and quotations.