Word: enthusiasts
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1970-1979
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...ONLY THING that scares a narrow-minded person more than a nihilist is an enthusiast. For, while it has become fashionable to precede many intellectual discussions with a credo of disbelief (in the name of scientific abstraction), the old saw against those who wish to "destroy without first building an alternative system" is a great weapon for the entrenched self-righteous. It is much harder, though, to fight positive enthusiasm. One can do little more than snarl, "naive and simplistic pseudo-philosophy" when confronted with, say, a new religious sect...
Today, enthusiasm's original meaning has been diluted. In the 18th century, labelling someone an enthusiast could mean that they were either visionary or self-deluded or both. The word had a double edge...
...from Plains will add his lore to this travelogue, filled with moments that have changed the world, footnoted with the sublime and the ridiculous but rarely dull or meaningless. The sport of Presidents has gained another enthusiast...
...rarely seen in public without a jacket and tie, usually bows to the Israeli flag (no other Premier did this) and is scrupulously polite to his staff. His predecessor, Yitzhak Rabin, was introverted, often seemed indecisive and headed a quarrelsome government tarred by corruption charges. Begin is an enthusiast, transparently honest, and a devoutly Orthodox Jew. Says a Labor-appointed official who was kept in his post by Begin: "The Premier is a very proud Jew, very conscious of history, very conscious of the Holocaust. He makes Jews all over the world, as a people, feel very proud of themselves...
...reaction to The Grateful Dead Movie must ultimately depend on one's opinion of the Dead themselves. Deadheads all over the United States will love this film and see it as many times as they can, preferably while: a) stoned out, or b) tripping. For a non-rock enthusiast, forget it, and for the average rock fan, well, this is just a very average rock movie, and on the long side at that...