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The British Psyche:As Interested in the USA Elections 2008 as Americans

May 13th, 2008
By DR. CLARISSA PINKOLA ESTÉS, Assistant Editor, TMV Columnist

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Got a call from the BBC this morning. I’ll be on BBC radio here in just a little bit to speak about “Should Hillary Clinton Quit?” I’ll post the article on what was said on the show, later tonight. I’ve been writing an article for TMV on just that topic. Generally, it’s a critique about the MSM’s perseveration re telling a candidate what they ought do next. Irritable back seat drivers, I’d venture. An odd surge toward ‘making news happen,’ as opposed to reporting news.

I look forward to engaging with media people from Britain again. I’ve a British book publisher, Rider, and my work has been on the bestseller lists there. From my conversation with various colleagues in Britain, what I keep hearing is that ‘the British have never seen such a race before as that occuring between Senators Obama and Clinton” and that the Brits are keeping their ears tuned keenly for the latest.

The British are an odd, wonderful lot.

Many still often stiff-lipped on the surface, but just underneath the surface, I often find particularly in the men, a giggling boy who sees the ironies of life… and loves to laugh over them.

The women may often be a different story. Not so closed mouthed from the get-go. Especially since the Queen, some years ago, broke usual royal protocol about not saying personal items in public…. she let it be known that she’d had an ‘annus horribilus’ … “a horrible year,” what with the fire at Windsor Castle and her poppetts jumping about publicly doing all manner of things that allowed the citizenry to tsk tsk– or chortle– about.

Just as an aside to HRH, the Queen, many of we parents and grandparents here in the USA really really do understand attempting to inspire ‘proper formation’ in family members… and that it’s often enough like trying to give cats a bath. All you’ve got to show sometimes are lots of spilled water and lots of mad cats.

But, too, I remember the Brits for who they have incubated in their portion of the world: C.S. Lewis,* Tolkein, Gladstone and Irish home rule, and the likes of our founding fathers and founding mothers who came on boats, here to what is now the USA. I also remember the British incursions and wars, their occupations, their failures.

Quite generally, the Brits are a completely stalwart, secretly sybaritic, overtly brash, competitive, visionary, violent, massively creative group of people.

Um… like, someone else we know. Yes, like us Americaners.

Heritage is more than just blood.

———-
*C.S. Lewis, born Irish son, migrated to England, age 19 on university scholarship, and then enlisted in the war effort for Great Britain in WWI.



This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 13th, 2008 at 10:36 am and is filed under Newsweek Blogitics. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Viewing 6 Comments

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    "An odd surge toward ‘making news happen,’ as opposed to reporting news"
    is a great encapsaulation of what i've noticed and fretted about.
    The hourly poll numbers are also part of my radar scanning for suspicious influence.

    As an aside, I'm also keeping watch over the case of the vanishing objective case in pronoun usage.
    The word 'me' has almost entirely disappeared., and other pronouns when required by usage in a sentence to be in the objective case , are following suit.

    "many of we parents " makes me wonder how many of we agree..
    I see I should get used to saying :" Give we our liberty." :)

    We (nominative case) curmudgeons take every opportunity to be irritable about things that irritate us (objective case). .

    In case it's not clear, I'm trying to be funny, about my vanishing objective friends, the pronouns.
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    • v
    my dear runasim; you've made the only grotesque error I've ever seen you make in thinking I know what an objective case is in a pronoun, or a proton, or a nano or a clown noun.

    I think you are saying I misused de Enk-lesh in some way? Not suprising since English is not my first language. Also, for some reason, I was born not knowing how to speak at all.

    Seriously, if I did say/write something grammatically incorrect, (even what I just wrote there doesnt somehow sound quite grammmatical) please tell me where and what ought go there, and I will correct it. I don't think I can see/find it by myself.

    Where I grew up, our teachers were constantly correcting us about saying us'n, when we meant us. THey said, say "we" instead, don't use 'us.'

    You have to remember, i grew up in the boon docks where grammar is very important, and I had several wonderful grammers when I was growing up too.

    Ok, ok, I know. To my room

    failure as a stand-up comic

    dr.e
    • ^
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    Someone actually corrected the Doc's English?
    Wow.
    Where I'm from that's considered rude and the height of bad manners. :(
    Frankly, I didn't notice it when I read the article. I was too busy enjoying myself with the read. :)
    Just my .02 cents worth
    Ghost
    • ^
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    Dear Ghostdreams, welcome. And nice screen name you have there. I'd like to introduce you to runasim, who is a regular commenter here at TMV too. I hope you will be also!. I think she/he was teasing me. You know, just saying sometihing that happens to be true about grammar, and...... and I was trying to be funny in return. I think I better not be a stand up comic, tho. Better just stick to we'uns and us'n.

    Thank you Ghostdreams, and I understand your point about manners too. Nice to hear when someone still holds to gallantry.

    dr.e
    • ^
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    You're right Doc. Runasim did say at the end of the post that it was meant in jest. I was just a little taken off guard and ...
    1) As I said I was raised that it's rude to correct someone's English (actually, it was incorrect to correct anything if it was going to embarrass the person or make them feel bad)
    2) As important (if not more so), in cases such as this it's usually *ME* who is the one that is being corrected!! (grin) thus I'm a bit sensitive on the subject. :P
    If people only knew how many times I run "spell check" and "grammar check" before I post ANYTHING. It's embarrassing to me but the truth is out and has been for some time. College education did nothing to improve the Ghost's English.
    Runasim, my apologies for my rather testy post.
    Doc . .What a nice welcome! Thank you so much!
    Ghosty

    PS My grammar check is broken at the moment! (in case that's not obvious by my post. heeh)
    • ^
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    dear Ghostdreams. Everything is alright. It is sometimes hard to tell tone of voice on the internet. It's ok.

    I'm with you... I tell my co-editors here at TMV constantly, spot me please on spelling, I cant spell very well (I come to it honestly from a life long dyslexia) and neither can my spellchecker. I got what you said, completly.... er complitlee, um, completilly. Yes, like he said, completely.

    dr.e
 
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