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@alter_kaker
Strong yes to the last point arguing against “an abstract belief that good ideals will win with some kind of mathematical inevitability.” That is indeed a serious flaw in the Bucks piece.

Your posts bring to mind Susan Sontag: “10 percent of any population is cruel, no matter what, and 10 percent is merciful, no matter what, and the remaining 80 percent can be moved in either direction.”

What I like about the Bucks is that one part of moving that 80% is pointing out to people that yes, they really are making a choice, and yes, there are other choices. I especially like his argument that if you choose humanity, you are not as alone as you might feel. And another part of moving the 80% is Dovlatov helping us imagine vividly what happens, and you warning against passivity. It all matters so much.