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August 15, 2010
"Sentimentality is the virus that is eating away at modern life."
This is what makes sentimentality so much worse than a mere windy emotionalism:
at its core is a special kind of self-righteousness. You do not just have a feeling, whatever it may be (caring passionately about 'kiddies’, for example, even if the children in question are completely unknown to you); you have a warm glow of superiority in expressing that feeling and hence a righteous hatred of those who do not show it too. 'There is’, Dalrymple observes, 'always something coercive or bullying about public displays of sentimentality.’ -- Spoilt Rotten! by Theodore Dalrymple: review - Telegraph
Posted by Vanderleun at August 15, 2010 11:44 AM. This is an entry on the sideblog of American Digest: Check it out.
Your Say
A sentimentalist is simply one who desires to have the luxury of an emotion without paying for it--
Oscar Wilde
Malignant narcissism often masquerades as selfless concern--
Pat Santy
Sentimentality is a superstructure covering brutality--
Carl Jung
Posted by: james wilson at August 15, 2010 1:37 PM
While you're at the Telegraph, be sure to read about Roald Dahl. It's a gripping.
Posted by: Jewel at August 15, 2010 10:14 PM