[at-l] Re: Who cares about MacKaye?

[rafe.bustin@verizon.net (rafe.bustin@verizon.net)]

On 10 Apr 2002 at 13:30, Shane Steinkamp wrote:


> The examination of MacKaye's ideologies in a vacuum is pointless.  To
> understand his writing - and thereby his thoughts - you have to examine the
> movements of his time; the context, if you will, of his time period.  I have
> a wide background there, and my conclusion having that background is the
> same for all other movements of that time:  They are no longer relevant.

That's a profound claim.  I disagree, but I'd like to hear your reasoning.


> Let's take a different example:  Arguing what George Washington envisioned
> for his young nation is certainly interesting, but Mr. Washington's outlook
> did not come to pass - and is not relevant to modern society except as a
> footnote. 


So why is it that 2nd Amendment zealots are so quick to point out 
the correspondence of the founding fathers, the constitutional 
debates, and the assorted musings of rich white men who've been 
dead for 200 years now?

Who's to decide what's relevant?

I'm of two minds here, because, on the latter issue, I agree with your 
earlier premise.  Specifically, the original conditions no longer hold, 
and therefore the opinions of that age are no longer relevant to our own.


rafe b.
aka terrapin