The Horror Redux
I hate it when cruel reality proves me right.
Like yesterday I cited a poem by William Wordsworth bemoaning the rise of the material and the fall of the spiritual in western culture. (See "Triton versus Wayne.")
Upon which a reader dismissed Wordsworth's words with a blog comment suggesting the poet "wrote this stuff while ingesting heroin."
Which is like dismissing the life and works of Thomas Jefferson because he slept with his slave Sally Hemmings.
Or Tchaikovsky's music because he was a drunk.
For the record, by the way, Wordsworth never messed with drugs.
However, his poet pal Coleridge did -- which led to Wordsmith ending their friendship.
Ah well.
The point is, we live in the Golden Age of the Lowest Common Denominator.
Where:
Greatness is defined by The American Idol
Sensation trumps relevance
And ignorance is the Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse.
Those who doubt may google:
Jamie Jungers' liposuction
Britney Spears' underwear
Judge Larry Seidlin's tears
Heidi Montag' surgery
Michael Jackson's face
Oprah's weight.
But enough.
Point is, the Illiterati are driving the train.
Which is why Glen Beck has replaced Edwar R. Murrow.
However...
NOTE: Brave souls among the nation's endangered sapient minority might find comfort and understanding in Jacques Barzun's From Dawn To Decadence* -- which, by the way, the man wrote in his 80's.
*WARNING
This book contains no pictures!
Like yesterday I cited a poem by William Wordsworth bemoaning the rise of the material and the fall of the spiritual in western culture. (See "Triton versus Wayne.")
Upon which a reader dismissed Wordsworth's words with a blog comment suggesting the poet "wrote this stuff while ingesting heroin."
Which is like dismissing the life and works of Thomas Jefferson because he slept with his slave Sally Hemmings.
Or Tchaikovsky's music because he was a drunk.
For the record, by the way, Wordsworth never messed with drugs.
However, his poet pal Coleridge did -- which led to Wordsmith ending their friendship.
Ah well.
The point is, we live in the Golden Age of the Lowest Common Denominator.
Where:
Greatness is defined by The American Idol
Sensation trumps relevance
And ignorance is the Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse.
Those who doubt may google:
Jamie Jungers' liposuction
Britney Spears' underwear
Judge Larry Seidlin's tears
Heidi Montag' surgery
Michael Jackson's face
Oprah's weight.
But enough.
Point is, the Illiterati are driving the train.
Which is why Glen Beck has replaced Edwar R. Murrow.
However...
NOTE: Brave souls among the nation's endangered sapient minority might find comfort and understanding in Jacques Barzun's From Dawn To Decadence* -- which, by the way, the man wrote in his 80's.
*WARNING
This book contains no pictures!
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