Thursday, November 2, 2006

Cults of Personality

Now, I am probably just as guilty as anyone else for idealizing people and overlooking their negative aspects. In my misspent youth of 21, I was very critical of Pinochet's arrest, overlooking his violent overthrow and buying into ideological solidarity. Sure, one could justify some of his actions with The Prince, but that isn't the best selling point. Even in spite of Chile's current prosperity and the ineptness of Allende, my position was wrong. I supported a minor-league falangist without thinking about it properly. I realize my attitude was wrong and that regardless of whatever good may come, he must answer for his crimes. His takeover was not the Glorious Revolution of Charles II or even the Coup in Thailand. At least my admiration for Genghis Khan and Attila the Hun can be put into perspective as they were pre-industrial nomads and were vilified by propaganda that is slowly being discredited, plus they were both ass-kickers and visionaries. Now, my article is not about Genghis Khan, Attila the Hun, or Pinochet. It is a commentary about a socially acceptable monster: Che "t-shirt capitalism" Guevera. The Che Paradox I will find other sources beyond Capitalism Magazine, but I do so enjoy them :)

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Genghis Khan sure deserves a much better reputation than what he's got. Considering where he started, he's got to be the greatest man in history.

Until Islam set in, Mongols were the window of tolerance in the dark cell of Middle Ages. That is as long as you did not fight them, of cause :-)

Anonymous said...

I don't understand why Che has become such a symbol.

Thomas Forsyth said...

Shlemazl> Voltaire started the bash Genghis craze, though I have alway shad a fondness for warlords who ocnquered and united. The Tatars and Mongols were seperate ethnicities, but Genghis conquered the Tatars and others, slaughtered the main threats, had his mom adopt a few select tribesmen, and absorb the rest.

A book I recently read called Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, which has a much more appreciative opinion of Genghis Khan, aka Temujin, aka 10x the ass kicker Chuck Norris can ever hope to be.

I wouldn't entirely blame Islam, for when Temujin was growing up, there were Mongols and Christians in the steppes and no religious problems. I'd say the main tragedy is that Islam got short-changed a bit, for while Judaism was blessed with Maimonides and Christianity has St. Thomas Aquinas, Islam had this dude.

BTW, your pic reminds me of Gene Wilder.

Steve> Well, Che was a spoiled aristocrat who hated his godo life and wnated to champion self-destructive causes, and how many College students think like that?

Jason said...

""""Steve> Well, Che was a spoiled aristocrat who hated his godo life and wnated to champion self-destructive causes, and how many College students think like that?""""

How many college students even know that about him?