Author: Wayne Slingluff

Literature

An editorial in WSJ told young men they should read more fiction. Broaden outlooks, deal with inner complexities. A different editorial, written by a wealthy young twerp, advised that one’s 20’s should be completely devoted to the task of “becoming a billionaire”, after which, presumably we can live a decent life .

Spending one’s twenties (or any other decade) in a narrow obsession is madness. Believing one is in absolute control of the future is an immature fantasy. Perhaps literature is an antidote to that, or at least a window on alternatives. But there are other ways – falling in love, laughing with friends, having adventures. The list is of course endless .

We currently have made heroes of the wrong people. Life is a gift, not a test. It can only be “won” by living it fully and in balance. Hiding in an obsessive foxhole and thinking you are in charge of your fate will only earn scorn. And, of course, the premise is wrong. Reaching a goal does not mean the rest of your life is taken care of .

We all learn that eventually, unless we damage ourselves too much. Usually, such wisdom and reflections take time and effort. Literature, particularly fiction, offers a shortcut .

But the young rarely take the advice of the old. They know better .

I pity them .

Asocial Rulers

There have been ruling monsters throughout history, often exemplified as evil Roman emperors such as Caligula. But more critical has been the constant stream of asocial rulers. Those who care more about systems than people.

If there is one single distinguishing feature about classic Western civilization, it is recognition of the individual. Each person – even children, women, and slaves – has a human universe. Each feels pain and joy, plans and schemes, thinks and experiences. All are valid. We often lose sight of that in practice, but there it is .

Asocial rulers do not think that way. They may respect people in their immediate circle. Beyond that, folks are just objects, masses of creatures to be used or eliminated, to achieve whatever goals are felt desirable. And the fact is that the truly asocial leader does not care at all how the individuals in the masses are affected. In fact, often does not notice that masses ARE composed of individuals .

I understand the social dynamic, and accept that increasingly dense civilization makes asocial rule increasingly necessary. Perhaps that is an attraction in AI takeover. But just because I see it does not mean I have to like it. I want to keep some perspective .

Fire Next Door

Unfortunately, this is not a metaphor. The other day, smoke started coming out of the garage in the ranch house across the road from us. By the time the firefighters had arrived in these suburbs and put it out, the whole place and it’ belongings were ruined. Apparently it is a total loss and must be torn down and rebuilt .

It is a strong reminder of the force of fortune. The owner had for years poured a stream of money into improvements _ so much so that my wife and I were sometimes annoyed at the constant activity, noise, and trucks blocking our driveway across the narrow old street. No matter, gone literally with the wind. Up in smoke .

And of course I sit here and realize that there but for the grace of God go I. Nothing obviously stupid caused the blaze. Bad luck, a wayward electric spark perhaps. But nobody could sit back and think “if only” .

There is insurance, and the owner claims to want to rebuild. But lots of memories are gone, and  no doubt the sense of security once enjoyed. Everything in their world changed in a couple of hours .

If it were not so terrible, it would be a terrific remedial tonic to cure hubris .

Naked Rhinoceros

It was fashionable for a while to say that the current administration, like the ancient vain king, “had no clothes” when he claimed to be clothed in resplendent (but invisible) robes. Over time, however, power prevails.

The more appropriate fable is Ianesco’s “Rhinoceros” where normal people keep looking out the window and seeing everyone else, one by one, turning into that beast. Written in the ’30s it was of course a metaphor for everyone becoming nationalistic fascist .

At a gross level, the current rhinoceros is the nationalistic white supremacists. But the more troubling deeper change is that everyone, on all sides, have become sloganistic liars. They take one true “fact” and amplify it to great generality. As if finding one rotten apple in a barrel means there is an apple disaster, or one perfect apple indicates the crop is magnificent .

The “elite” used to at least pretend to intellectual rigor. No more. Anything can be said, and anything can be used to support what is said (and done) and if necessary anything can be fabricated as “virtually” true .

I look out the window and am becoming terrified. The horned herds grow bigger and bigger .

Robespierre

The 1789 French reign of terror has come to symbolize how a revolution can get out of control, turn on its leaders, and devour itself (along with lots of other people) . Robespierre is seen as a kind of parody of Hollywood kings constantly shouting “off with his head” to anyone who talked back or looked at him in a strange way .

Yet Robespierre was not really an evil guy. Throughout his short life he held ideals familiar and endorsed by most of us – the rights of citizens, abolition of slavery, women’s empowerment, rational society. He wanted a just society maintained by an uncorrupted government, where merit counted for more than class of birth .

What went wrong? Did power corrupt ?

No, not really. It seems to have been a sad, unintentional slide into hell. Things went wrong at home and abroad. Robespierre tried to deal with them. “Opponents” became “enemies”. Then “traitors” then “evil incarnate” which had to be eliminated for the glorious new world to arrive .

No matter how many went to the guillotine, troubles continued and multiplied. Finally Robespierre and the rest of the directorate fell, ending the senseless internal slaughter and opening the way for the senseless external slaughter of Napoleon .

We may rightly call Robespierre a fanatic, especially at the end of his life. There may be lessons there for many of us .

Hippodrome

According to Edward Gibbon, the Roman Empire did not completely fall in the late 400s, but continued at Constantinople, speaking Greek and a little Latin for about another thousand years. The Byzantine Empire ruled parts of Asia, the Middle East, Africa. It fought and traded with all the other world powers of the time (Charlemagne, Persia, China). The city inhabitants were, it seems, mostly well fed and well off for those times, going about their daily business as we do ours .

But in all this eon, did the masses care much about the larger issues of civilization? No! They spent most time rooting for and betting on the horse races in the hippodrome. Rulers rose and fell depending on support of the “blue” or “green” factions. Mercenaries fought all the wars, while the citizens rooted for charioteers .

Today it is hard to find an equivalent to blue and green mobs, unless it is maga versus woke. Mostly our obsessive enthusiasms are splintered on the internet. We still hire mercenaries, don’t think much about the larger issues of civilization, and go about our “normal lives” .

Who knows? Maybe this civilization will also last a thousand years .

But if I were one of those gambling fanatics, I know where I would place my bet …