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Feb. 5th, 2014
Litter Box
Feb. 5th, 2014 10:00 amI finally got the litter box out of the way. It’s now fresh and ready for use. It probably isn’t a surprise that I tend to let that little chore slide. Yet, I beat the trash man to the curb, and I also finished before Kay and Pop got out of bed. I was geared for a battle today. I woke up this morning feeling quite good and truly refreshed. It is especially tricky when you are sleeping in this dinky, beaten up mattress in the big room. The key, I guess, is that I was feeling deadly tired last night. I didn’t even get in my little reading session before bed.
It is supposed to get wintry cold again tonight, but it seems safe enough to let the cats out and let them have another opportunity to work off their feline restlessness before it gets dark. They run out joyfully. I see that Coco has found a new scratching post. It is a tree root that protrudes above the ground, a slender leg of good wood. She hunches up her back and fiercely digs at it. Our furniture should be thankful for being spared such devotion.
Orwell is reviewing a book by Bertrand Russell on the question of state power. The year is 1939 and the question is therefore very acute. Apparently, Russell is arguing that democracy should win out in the end over the gathering dictatorships. We can also see some of the ideas that will go into “1984”.
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Underlying this is the idea that common sense always wins in the end. And yet the peculiar horror of the present moment is that we cannot be sure that this is so. It is quite possible that we are descending into an age in which two and two will make five when the Leader says so. Mr. Russell points out that the huge system of organized lying upon which the dictators depend keeps their followers out of contact with reality and therefore tends to put them at a disadvantage as against those who know the facts. This is true so far as it goes, but it does not prove that the slave-society at which the dictators are aiming will be unstable. It is quite easy to imagine a state in which the ruling caste deceive their followers without deceiving themselves. Dare anyone be sure that something of the kind is not coming into existence already? One has only to think of the sinister possibilities of the radio, State-controlled education and so forth, to realize that “the truth is great and will prevail” is a prayer rather than an axiom.
-- George Orwell, “Review of Power: A New Social Analysis by Bertrand Russell” [p. 107 in Everyman’s Library (2002)]
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Underlying this is the idea that common sense always wins in the end. And yet the peculiar horror of the present moment is that we cannot be sure that this is so. It is quite possible that we are descending into an age in which two and two will make five when the Leader says so. Mr. Russell points out that the huge system of organized lying upon which the dictators depend keeps their followers out of contact with reality and therefore tends to put them at a disadvantage as against those who know the facts. This is true so far as it goes, but it does not prove that the slave-society at which the dictators are aiming will be unstable. It is quite easy to imagine a state in which the ruling caste deceive their followers without deceiving themselves. Dare anyone be sure that something of the kind is not coming into existence already? One has only to think of the sinister possibilities of the radio, State-controlled education and so forth, to realize that “the truth is great and will prevail” is a prayer rather than an axiom.
-- George Orwell, “Review of Power: A New Social Analysis by Bertrand Russell” [p. 107 in Everyman’s Library (2002)]
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Delusions of Grandeur
Feb. 5th, 2014 05:45 pmPop has brought out a deep container filled with odds and ends and assorted old junk and is digging through it. I ask, “Are you looking for something in particular?” He says, “Yeah, a long spoon for making drinks.” I strain to keep from shaking my head in what might be mild disgust. God, will his absurd pretensions never end! In his mind, he seems to see himself as a rich aristocrat of such delicate and fine sensibilities and tastes. He will probably take that glorious vision to his death.
“Well, you continue to see yourself as a frustrated writer. And that will likely never change. Is it any different?”
Maybe not. I guess everyone has to find a way to live with themselves, even if that only makes us look that much more foolish.
“Well, you continue to see yourself as a frustrated writer. And that will likely never change. Is it any different?”
Maybe not. I guess everyone has to find a way to live with themselves, even if that only makes us look that much more foolish.