Word: absurdity
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...tyranny "democratic centralism." The most irremediably bleak and oppressive of the European satellites, East Germany, styles itself the German Democratic Republic. For that matter, all the satellites are fond of calling themselves "peoples' democracies." That tag was adopted by Indonesian Dictator Sukarno after he gave up the patently absurd mislabel of "guided democracy"-which has now been picked up by Malawi President H. Kamuzu Banda, who explains blandly, "I am a dictator by the will of the people." Southern Rhodesian Premier Ian Smith, busy developing a political hammer lock to keep some 250,000 whites in power over...
...Republican politicking down South pure cynicism by any means. After all, such Radical Republicans as Pennsylvania's Representative Thaddeus Stevens and Massachusetts' Senator Charles Sumner were the same ones who had been passionate prewar abolitionists. To suppose that they lost their ideals at Appomattox, writes Stampp, is absurd. "In fact, Radical Reconstruction ought to be viewed in part as the last great crusade of the 19th century romantic reformers." Other historians might boggle at calling the spiteful Stevens a romantic...
...pointed out the demonstration was intended as no more than a spoof of a march on an empty White House and a Congress which was not in session. The signs which said "On to Hanoi" were not made or carried by Lampoon members. Our signs were all absurd: "Don't Rock the Junk," "Save the White House Easter Egg Roll," and "We love...
...this point people (some of them Lampoon members) began to chant absurd political slogans. The tenor of the rally thus far had not been even slightly serious and the political chants were not introduced in a serious vein. If one shouts "War! War! War!" in the same tone that he shouts "Here we go 'round the Mulberry bush" the obvious implication is that he is not to be taken seriously...
...absurd as you must realize to categorize everyone in the crowd as a "know-nothing who finds sincerity embarassing." The great bulk of the crowd was made up of people who had nothing to do, who came to a frivolous anti-protest protest. While the Lampoon was in control most of them were laughing. Ballooning the actions of one student into a "drunken rally," however, can only be construed as careless reporting or poorly couched slander...