Insights Unearthed
You can’t imagine what heights of idiotic nonsense a man can finally soar to ! But of course you can imagine it - don’t we talk rot ourselves? Well, let them talk it if they want to: later on they’ll talk sense, no doubt ….
(Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Published in 1866, this quote from 1953, 1981 Oxford University Press edition, page 183 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2554 )
Big Earl had spent his Sunday afternoon in the gym, pumping iron. Since joining the “Top Shape” gym, he had developed considerably larger biceps but the spare tire around his waist refused to deflate. A weekly six-pack of Mexican beer (the local brew tasted flat and watery) along with beef nachos topped with plenty of cheese, had conspired to hold him back. But what could Earl do about that? He did not want to skip meeting his buddies every other Thursday at the “Work Horse” bar and grill. That was the place where they shared updates on how they were doing, things they had done (or mostly planned to do), engage in gossip (especially about women) and blurt out half-baked ideas while ordering extra fries and winking at the waitress.
It was how they wasted away their time, as if it didn’t matter, never once reflecting on any “good advice” they might have once received by their own elders. When it came to politics, they all assumed that they were informed and knowledgeable citizens. They never paid the least attention to their kids mental and social stress. Most of their boisterous opinions were derived from social media, where even news was often AI-generated. The opinions and beliefs they held would fail any litmus test of sound judgement.
Without doubt they’d pull blanks if they were ask to formulate a coherent political thought of their own. Democracy to them, was reduced to the act of going to elections conducted under the least democratic model all: the first-past-the-post system. Thus, their sole social role, apart from being a constant consumer, was to hasten the demise of historical insights and wisdom. Big Earl and his buddies were nevertheless, proud of having lived complete lives. Lives centred on themselves that would never amount to even a footnote in history (although future genreations would curse those who had driven V-8 pickups without a care for fuel consumption).
Their contribution to society was limited to contributing to the ever-increasing environmental footprint, like most all of us do.
Talk sense any time soon? Most doubtful. Sorry Fyodor.
