I have been silent on this blog for several days while the
discussion in the Comment section has once again blossomed. In part this has been a consequence of my
trip to New York, the grading of midterm papers, and a bit of fearsome weather
locally. For the most part we have just
had high winds and drenching rains, but yesterday, as I was driving about doing
errands, I found my way blocked by a very tall pine trip that had snapped off
three or four feet above the ground and had crushed a parked car. Something of a cautionary experience.
The principal reason for my silence is my despair at the
way of the world. I feel like a soldier
hunkered down behind a building under fire from the enemy, and in that
condition, I do not find myself moved to meditate on the theory of just war. Three and a half weeks from the election, all I care about
is turnout. I do what I can canvassing,
and I try not to despair.
Adding to the tumult in my life is a new rescue cat whom we
acquired three weeks ago. She is
charming and playful but still too scared to let us hold her, although last
night, after we turned the lights off, she hopped up on the bed and – as I lay
very quietly – peered at us soulfully before hopping back down. Progress.
Here is a picture.
A friend suggested we call her Ginsburg because she looks as
though she is wearing a black robe with a white collar. We shall see.
16 comments:
Prof. Wolff,
I share your sense of despair and disappointment. I wonder how the country that gave voice to the soaring oratory of Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy and Barack Obama, could have spawned the demagoguery of Trump. I pray that I outlive his administration and witness the restoration of some measure of sanity in this country.
I have asked friends my age if the present times are worse than what we experienced during the 1960’s. Generally, the response has been no, that the 1960s were worse, with the multiple assassinations, the race riots in Newark and Detroit, the Vietnam war, its atrocities and war protests. Nostalgia has a way of distorting the past.
Reflecting on history, I believe that we in the United States have been somewhat anesthetized by our spatial and chronological removal from the worst aspects of humanity. The events of 9/11 were the closest that the American people have come, in contemporary times, to experiencing on our soil the destruction that hatred can inflict. We have been insulated from the trauma that other societies, in other places and other times, have been exposed to. What was it like to be a staunch abolitionist in 1855, reading the speeches by John C. Calhoun declaring the inferiority of the Negro race and praising slavery as a benevolent institution, to have witnessed, for example, the cruelty of marauding bands in bloody Kansas? Or to have lived through the Reign of Terror, with blood flowing in the streets, and the rise of a self-aggrandizing Emperor? Or to experience the terrorism and barbarism of invading Mongol hordes?
Keeping these historical musings in mind, it helps me to keep things in perspective.
P.S.: She is, indeed, a handsome feline. The Notorious RBG would, I believe, be pleased to share her name. (On decision days, Justice Ginsburg wears one of two collars, depending on whether she is in the majority or the minority. http://mentalfloss.com/article/76804/15-things-you-should-know-about-ruth-bader-ginsburg, No. 11)
Errata
I arbitrarily chose the year 1855, without checking. John C. Calhoun died in 1850.
MS,
It's interesting what you say about the contrast between Martin Luther King and Trump.
In his blog Professor Leiter asked readers to name their five favorite 20th century Americans. Leiter named FDR, Debs, Bayard Rustin, A. Phillip Randolph and H.L. Mencken, all of whom figured either in the first half or at least the first two thirds of the 20th century yet Leiter is only 55. I myself named Bob Dylan, Allen Ginsberg, Bayard Rustin, Chomsky and Edward Said (whose masterwork Orientalism appeared in 1978), that is, people who figured in the 60's or the 70's, although Chomsky is still active today. In general, readers selected figures from the first two thirds or three quarters of the 20th century; very few picks were from the 80's or 90's. I assume that Leiter's readers are not all as old as I am, so they cannot be accused of idealizing their youth.
So is there a decline in the U.S. in the last few decades of the 20th century? When I think of France, Camus, Sartre, de Beauvoir and Proust all come to mind, once again figures from the first two thirds or three quarters of the 20th century. When I think of Britain, I think of Orwell, Bertrand Russell, Winston Churchill and John Lennon, once again figures from the first two thirds of three quarters of the 20th century.
Maybe I'm just an old guy bemoaning that things aren't what they used to be, yet the 80's are a big turning point, that's when money took over with Reagan and Thatcher, when anyone who wasn't in it for the money started to look like a bit of a fool. Yet being in it for the money does not lead to greatness, the greatness of an Orwell or a Simone de Beauvoir or a Eugene Debs.
http://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2018/10/my-five-favorite-americans-of-the-20th-century.html
It's "Ginsburg."
I looked up the spelling before writing it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Ginsberg
Dear MS, today is outwardly less turbulent because social controls have put the lid back on society, both from the left and the right, though the right is more dangerous.
The danger isn't civil war, though some fear those horrors, but out and out tyranny.
I have a personal sense that in the sixties and seventies people followed their bliss, no matter what, while since the eighties many tried to get rich off of others no matter what- though this is a simplification, I'd say that the right is trying to put a lid on what they perceive as an out of control and hedonistic culture, especially the evangelicals- part of this is due to the emaciation of the public sphere and part of this perception is due to pop culture, but a small but real part of this perception is accurate in my opinion
The real danger is tyranny. I think Nixon wished to assert tyranny but he was shouting in the wind. That is the real danger in our time. The left tries to control or curb expression of thought, though I'd be ready to debate that point, but that is less of a threat, even if you don't subscribe to that ideology
s. wallerstein,
I believe that Carl is referring to the spelling of Justice Ginsburg’s name, not the poet’s.
Yes, “In years that bring the philosophic mind[,]” the light that dims with the passage of time does seem to make the events of our past seem brighter,
What though the radiance which was once so bright
Be now for ever taken from my sight,
Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind[.]
We also have a rescue cat who's taken a full 2 years of exploring the house at nights before her first jump on our laps. We selectivley kept closets, garage, and basement doors open for her. She explored every inch of the house. We also kept UPS and fedEx boxes overnight on the floor for her exploration.
Professor Wolff --
Are you allowed to keep this cat? If so, great. Acclimation varies depending on the cat's history and background. If she has experienced any trauma and/or abuse, it could be a long road ahead before she finally becomes relaxed and comfortable.
As for a name, I would simply go for Ruth.
-- Jim
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