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Tuesday 21 February 2012

Knowing and thinking



There seems to be a difference between knowing stuff and thinking it through so it sort of hangs together.

An example of what I mean is how we know our political elites are no good. We know they tend to be vain, greedy arrogant liars – sometimes all of those things in one person. Sifting through this knowledge, trying to stitch it together with theory or reason, or trying to elevate what we know to the more exalted status of what we’ve deduced - well I’m not entirely convinced there is a point to it.

We know those ghastly toads and we know their ways. For all I know, everybody knows what they are apart from the weird ones who join their parties. Maybe even they know.

Yet these elite bunglers are the main reason we don’t really make a good job of the simple business of living. They stick their silly fingers in, taking while pretending to give - prattling at us rather than learning from us. Learning not to prattle would be a start - but no, we'll not get that any time soon.

So we end up with a society which is okay if you don’t look too hard or insist on some principles from on high. We end up with comfort instead of principle, plus killing, destroying, pointless games, paperwork or whatever ghastliness slips in and out of fashion.

Live and let live we don’t do so well.

3 comments:

rogerh said...

Ignore them, prattling about them only tickles their egos. Get on with something interesting, translating from a dead language, or growing cauliflowers - anything.

As I see it the public inhabit a rambling old mansion (Britain) and at some time hired staff to answer the door and clean the windows. The blighters found the keys to the cellar and the deed box and now charge us rent to live in the stables.

As I said translation or cauliflowers - it's the only antidote.

A K Haart said...

rogerh - that's good. Can I post it?

rogerh said...

With pleasure