Addiction in Society

Great post, as usual. But I feel I need to put in a word against your characterization of Michelle as "brittle." Given that her "adult life" began around the time of Reagan's election in 1980, it's easy to see why she hasn't felt particularly proud of her country since then.

On domestic policy, the "Reagan Revolution" was a movement by the upper one or two percent of richest Americans against the rest of us. Remember "trickle-down economics?" In foreign affairs, the dark cohort around R.R. funded the killing of Nicaraguan and El Salvadorean villagers with profits from weapons sold illegally to Iran -- skirting congressional oversight. Nicaragua's offense? Choosing a government that would help their own people with things like universal health care and literacy programs.

The Bush administration was Reagan Redux, the bloody, bankrupt conclusion of what was begun in 1980. Clinton, neutralized by a Republican Congress and his own personal idiocies, was little more than a pause in this campaign against the very notion of fairness or compassion for any but the most fortunate.

Anyone whose been paying attention would find it hard to feel proud of this country since 1980. Nothing brittle about it.

that is all.