Sunday, January 4, 2015
THE FLOOD CONTINUES
I do seem to have tapped into a rich vein of information with my casual comment about Thomas Piketty refusing the Legion d'honneur. Jacob T. Levy's link to a Wikipedia list of all the people who have turned down British honors [including Oliver Cromwell declining the Throne!!!] is fabulous, and Daniel MacDonald links to a very thought-provoking acceptance speech by the Japanese novelist Haruki Murikami. Murikami's speech, which I recommend that you read, reminds me of my oft-repeated insistence that in this life our most important decision is which side we are on, whom we choose as our comrades and whom we identify as our enemies. I have written on this blog of my curious experience at Williams College, where my saying this provoked strong reactions from the students. They were made very uncomfortable by the thought that they might have enemies as well as friends in the political struggles of life.
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The french philosopher Jacques Bouveresse declined the Legion d'honneur in 2010. His motivation for refusing the distinction can be found here:
http://blog.agone.org/post/2010/07/26/Il-ne-peut-etre-question-en-aucun-cas-pour-moi-d’accepter-l-honneur-suppose-qui-m-est-fait
Thank you for the link. I read the refusal, which is very nicely stated. Alas, no one has ever given me such an opportunity. Oh well. :)
"in this life our most important decision is which side we are on, whom we choose as our comrades and whom we identify as our enemies."
That authentically saddens me. I really enjoy your voice and presence and have come to think of you as someone I'd enjoy having as a friend or colleague-- but there's no doubt that I'm not your comrade. And comrades-or-enemies thinking makes it hard to be friends or colleagues with people; I find it unpleasant even among those who would notionally be my comrades.
Jacob T. Levy, to be fair I'm not sure that remark means any person at all is either your friend or your enemy.
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