Hope and change

28 September 2009 @ 10:17 pm in Asides, Mormon, Politics | 9 comments

I wish I came across this last year.

“Eric Hoffer sees the masses as being vulnerable to manipulation in connection with mass movements because where people lack hope but are not willing to work for gradual progress they seem willing to sublimate themselves to a leader or a cause which purports to offer sudden, spectacular change.”

Neal A. Maxwell, p. 18, “ . . . A More Excellent Way” (1967)

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  1. David B’s avatar

    David B on 29 September 2009 at 12:02 am

    Well, that explains Reagan.

    (Yeah, i know that’s not what you were after, but you have to admit it fits just as well.)

  2. Michael’s avatar

    Michael on 29 September 2009 at 12:58 am

    I am reminded on the woman (in Florida?) who was so excited that she no longer needed to worry about her mortgage or paying for gas due to Obama.

  3. Joseph’s avatar

    Joseph on 29 September 2009 at 8:02 am

    @David B
    I fail to see the relation to Reagan. Where did Reagan attempt to dupe the public by making false promises of hope and change?

    The 80′ campaign of Reagan mostly revolved around the horrible handling of the economy by Carter. Reagan’s campaign revolved around ‘supply side’ economics and balancing the budget to restore the economy.

    Now I’ll agree that many conservatives now look for a ‘Reagan-like’ leader to lead them out of the wilderness that they’re in now. That could be dangerous in itself.

    @OP
    Not sure I agree with:
    “where people lack hope but are not willing to work for gradual progress”
    How do you know when people are not willing to work for gradual progress? What’s the definition of ‘progress’ btw?

    I think the feeling of the passage should be that people, when they have little hope, etc., are willing to trade whatever they have to someone who makes incredible promises, when they otherwise would not have done so under better circumstances.

    Think about ‘credit fixing’ companies. If you have good finances would you ever deal with these people?

  4. David H. Sundwall’s avatar

    David H. Sundwall on 29 September 2009 at 11:02 am

    Yeah, I wasn’t going for Reagan, but I get the point. As the quotes dates at least back to the ’60s, it obviously has a broader application in politics. But I would say Pres. Obama’s hope and change campaign has taken it to an unprecedented level. After all, when he clinched the nomination was “the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal.”

    More recently, statements like this from his U.N. speech last week make me wonder what he thought we did before him:

    For those who question the character and cause of my nation, I ask you to look at the concrete actions we have taken in just nine months.

    Overall, anyone who has so much faith that a silly politician is going to right all the wrongs in the world, are in for a world of hurt. Both sides can be guilty of that. I think it’s been pretty extreme right now.

  5. Philip D. Hansten’s avatar

    Philip D. Hansten on 29 September 2009 at 7:15 pm

    My new book widely quotes Hoffer as well as Montaigne–

    Premature Factulation: The Ignorance of Certainty and the Ghost of Montaigne

    author, Philip D. Hansten
    (http://www.Philoponus.com/)

  6. Dan’s avatar

    Dan on 1 October 2009 at 7:43 am

    heh, it’s okay for Reagan to fundamentally change America. But see, Obama is an “other” and cannot be trusted. Com’on David. You’re better than this.

  7. Dan’s avatar

    Dan on 1 October 2009 at 7:45 am

    So why did you wish to have come across this last year? To use the logical fallacy of appealing to authority? ;)

  8. David H. Sundwall’s avatar

    David H. Sundwall on 1 October 2009 at 9:12 am

    Dan,

    Please don’t try to put words in my mouth. If you’re trying to insinuate I’m a Birther, I’ve said elsewhere they are loons.

    Pres. Obama is my president, not an “other” (I’ll save my posts about Lost for another time). He’s just a poor one in my opinion.

  9. Dan’s avatar

    Dan on 1 October 2009 at 11:02 am

    David,

    I didn’t imply you were a birther (though that does go to show you how crazy the right has gotten since Obama became president), but just simply that he’s not like you and thus untrustworthy of the responsibility of running this country.

    It should be added that Ron Paul also fits the bill quite nicely. A guy who wants to radically change things. End the Fed? You should be warning your fellow Mormons away from the clutches of Mr. Paul… ;)