I'm sure there's a rhetorician out there who can do a better job than I about explaining how Michael avoids dealing with the points that Wright makes.  Defining "romanticism" in its historical context and connecting it to progressivism seems to be a valuable contribution to the discussion, regardless of Michael's distaste for Wright's diction ("fantacizing").  Wright's argument can't be dismissed by simply claiming the power of "ambiguity" over clarity.  More broadly, Michael's problem with Wright's post seems to harken back to other complaints about posts in which author was passionate about his cause.Geoff Layton

Date: Tue, 16 Dec 2008 08:39:13 -0600From: [log in to unmask]: Re: The 'progressive view'To: [log in to unmask]


Dr. Wright,

Defining the "progressive view" in terms of neo-romantic values runs counter to Raymond Williams' account of the term in Keywords. As your assertions become more heated--"the progressives are still fantasizing about the Child"--your definition seems more influenced itself by your personal and spontaneous gripe than by an honest assessment of this word's ambiguity. Were you to consider the complicated status of this word in American history, for example, I doubt you would cast it in terms of all things undisciplined, childish and enthusiastic. That's the problem with such words: they resist pat definitions-- consider "reactionary," for instance.

Michael Dee
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