Word: sheered
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...irresistible baby boom generation has a way of imposing its will upon history. Sheer force of numbers (40 million) has blessed the boomers with a sublime sense of their own entitlement and a willful generational narcissism that empowers them in sibling teamwork toward rational solutions. So they have had their way over the years - in matters of Vietnam (get out!), of fashion, of sexual license, of music, of public health (No Smoking!), of leadership (cf. Bill Clinton) and, for some years now, of economic success. I can't wait until they arrive at old age. Death may get the boomers...
...Talk of Many Things" comes with dust jacket blurbs from, among others, George McGovern and John Kenneth Galbraith. Galbraith, Buckley's old pal and ideological nemesis, helps take some of the partisanship out of the proceedings by calling the book "sheer delight from humor and prose, whatever the political faith." I also am a friend of Buckley's, and I confess to viewing him through the lens of an immense affection...
...Watching a musical requires a certain willing suspension of disbelief: real people don't actually burst into song or ham it up as much as people in musicals do and audience members accept that in exchange for snappy, sappy songs, witty dialogue and the sheer entertainment value...
...rascals that we are, we see right through them. (Up to exam 40. Then our lynx eyes droop, and grading habits relax. Try to get on the bottom of the pile.) Again, it is not that A.E.'s are vicious or ludicrous as such; but in quantity they become sheer madness. Or induce it. "The 20th century has never recovered from the effects of Marx and Freud." (V.G.); "But whether or not this is a good thing or a bad thing is difficult to say." (A.E.) Now one such might be droll enough. Buy by the dozen? This, the quantitative...
...have changed some minds about gun control. I doubt it somehow. Our minds are made up, one way or another, for better and for worse, on these issues. We have developed a theater of moral spectacle for our entertainment mostly - if preaching to the choir can be called entertainment. Sheer numbers generate an atmosphere of smugness and self-congratulation, as fatuous as George Bush the elder's "Message: I care...