In any case he did not
like old men. The War had carried him with the rest upon the swing of that
popular cry “Every one over seventy to the lethal chamber.”...
...“I don’t think we
ought to be governed by old people,” said Jane. “Every one over seventy ought
to be buried whether they wish it or no.” Joan laughed aloud. “Of course they
wouldn’t wish it,” she said.
Hugh Walpole – The Cathedral (1922)
Almost a century ago Walpole used these two fictional
comments to indicate how bleakly facile rootless progressives can be. He was a
popular novelist, yet The Cathedral is a dark and strangely disturbing tale set within
the narrow confines of cathedral clergy.
At the novel’s heart is the subtle scheming of one clergyman
to undermine and remove another simply because he thinks cathedral life would
be more comfortable that way. This is his only motive for destroying a colleague.
It highlights something which has always been a fundamental
tenet of progressive thinking – sweep these
people away and all will be well.
3 comments:
That's probably the old-fashioned and crude type of progressive. These days, they are probably happier if they can ignore people's votes, outlaw their opinions, and marginalised their thought. Living people still need feeding, of course, but they don't cause much trouble and they look better in the history books.
Blimey, I'd be 2.5 years after my sell-by date!
Sam - and the feeding has come in for some scrutiny.
Scrobs - I'm behind you but still past my sell-by date. Does that make us cheaper?
Post a Comment