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Saturday, December 02, 2006
The Agony And The Ennui
Fran here. Regular readers of Eternity Road are aware that I rise very early, seven days a week. As it happens, I do most of my op-ed writing in those early hours; they're just about the only time I have for it. But recently those periods have been marked by anxiety in anticipation and aridity in output. Today I've been sitting at this keyboard since 4 AM, trying to goose the Curmudgeon into producing something significant yet mildly amusing for your reading pleasure. Every topic that comes to mind produces only weariness -- and yes, I got an adequate night's sleep.
Yes, we all have down periods when all our efforts are in vain. But this one has a special cast to it. Striking. Epiphany-like. With implications to be followed to wherever they might lead.
In recent weeks, I've found myself dreading the daily "news sweep:" my survey of all the major news sites and sources of opinion. Yet the news isn't all that bad; it's more or less the same as it was yesterday, and last week, and last month, and last year. Government is still anti-Constitutionally intrusive. Politicians still run the gamut from inept to evil. Leftists still promulgate whatever falsehoods they think they can get away with and excuse appalling behavior committed by members of their mascot groups. Foreign politicians still blame all the world's troubles on the United States. Entertainment celebrities still get excessive respect for their opinions, despite their obvious assholianism. Muslims still seethe, riot, and kill at every opportunity. Islamic spokesmen continue to deny the plain facts about their creed; some even maintain that the atrocities of Black Tuesday, September 11, 2001 had nothing to do with Islam or Muslims but were a product of the Evil Bush-Zionist Cabal.
More of the same...more of the same. Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose.
One thing has changed: the tone of political discourse. It's gotten much worse. That's why I've instituted comment moderation. Eternity Road gets one hell of a lot of hateful comment submissions. Sometimes the hatred is overt; sometimes it takes the form of vicious propaganda. The emitters have an agenda, of course: to offend, revolt, or weary their ideological adversaries out of the game. Clearly, one must be staunch in the face of such assaults. But that doesn't make it easy.
In reviewing the pieces I've most enjoyed writing these past few weeks, the ones that stand out are the Sunday Ruminations, the odd bits about love, romance, and marriage, and "flyers" like this essay at The Reform Club. The political and public-affairs pieces have come rather hard. This one was a notable exception, but that only sharpens the lance.
Mind you, I get hateful comments and E-mail about the Sunday Ruminations, too. You'll never see any of them; be grateful.
All the above was swirling through my head when, a short while ago, I decided to surf the Eternity Road blogroll, to see what my favorite commentators were writing about. When I reached Lana at Live From The Guillotine, who's been silent for a distressingly long time, what I read brought my thoughts into sudden, painful focus:
I've spent far too much time dinking around with inside baseball politics when I should have been baking cookies, watching movies with my kids, playing with my grandbaby, and kissing my husband silly. That's over. I don't get paid to know about that junk and I'm finished following it unless I'm reading for the humor factor. Life is too short and I have better things to do.
Thank You, God, for the gift of this supremely sensible woman. For what, after all, is our attention to politics and public affairs doing to any of us? Is it enriching our lives? Bolstering our hope for a better future? Is it even allowing us to undo some of our past mistakes?
No, no, and NO! Most emphatically not, on all counts. It's making us crazy, individually and as a society. Indeed, if you reflect for a bit on what it means to concern oneself with politics, you'll come to recognize the congruence between immersion in politics and obsessive-compulsive neurosis.
Politics and government are necessary evils. They exist because, at this time, Mankind has found no better way to dampen individuals' propensity to violence and fraud. Unfortunately, we've allowed governments way too much latitude, with the result that today they make all our problems worse rather than better. But the dynamic that propelled us to this point -- governments' nurturance of interest groups that support statist measures in their favor, and which ally with one another as long as their own subventions are maintained -- is highly resistant to being reversed. We who would prefer freedom are too busy trying to manage our own affairs to oppose such groups effectively.
Still, we allow politics and public affairs too much of our attention. It's as if we were somehow addicted to them. When we're in our right minds, we know that excessive immersion in collectivist pursuits -- and don't kid yourself; all political involvement, regardless of orientation, is collectivist -- is very bad for us. But no sooner has the insight formed than a bulletin from WCBS or FOX News shoves us off our pleasant isles of reason and back into the morass.
It's wearing beyond all possible justification. It sucks away one's energies more voraciously than a regiment of Draculas. It can be excused; it cannot be rationalized.
One is not free by virtue of politics, but despite it -- even in defiance of it. One is not moral or responsible because of the threat of punishment; that's merely risk aversion in service to self-preservation. One is not right or courageous in defense of truth and justice because of the passage of a bill or the outcome of an election, but because of one's individual choice of values and priorities.
Does this mean that I'll no longer write about politics and public affairs? Certainly not. But readers should expect a heavier admixture of essays on other topics henceforward. Fulfillment is an individual matter; my fulfillment, as a writer and thinker, has been hampered by focusing on politics six days a week with a little restful mysticism on the seventh. I'm going to reorient, possibly quite dramatically.
Since I know the question will be asked, I'll answer it in advance: Yes, this is at least somewhat in consequence of my declining health. Recently that decline has accelerated, and one cannot contemplate the approach of the grave without being compelled to re-examine one's priorities. I'd like to think that I'm sensible enough to have reached these conclusions even were I still in perfect health, though of course that's mere supposition. Life is an experiment one cannot run twice. But I trust you'll allow me that small conceit.
We shall see.
Comments
I care about what happens politically in our country, I even started my little blog two years ago because I wanted to have my say, and put it out there.
As my little site evolved I noticed I rarely posted about politics at all. I just write about whatever suits my fancy, most of it is not all that important, but fills some strange desire of mine to write something, anything.
In all honesty, I look forward to the changes you are making. However, I have found your analysis of events very helpful at times when I am trying to figure things out. It makes perfect sense though, politics never ends, life is short.
Posted by on 12/02/2006 at 10:24 AMI understand. And I think a lot of people on the “right” are feeling that way after the recent election. I share also your sharpened sense of mortality, and the desire to do something worthy in the time that remains. I wish you well, whatever you choose.
Posted by Alan Sullivan on 12/02/2006 at 10:58 AMYou write, we read. Even if it’s recipes.
Posted by og on 12/02/2006 at 11:21 AMFran,
Most of your stuff I read on your Blog are the non political stuff anyway. Those Sunday Ruminations I have Archived (and forwarded) many times.
With the rapid expansion of the internet, I used to get deep into the politics as it allowed a conduit past the intellectual elite (MSM) and I could much more easily find out what really was going on.
But since I’ve noticed the patterns (and they don’t really change that much) of politics and the heat sinks (think thermodynamics) from which the actions of the predictably survivalist politicians derive their ‘energy’, I’ve grown bored with the subject myself and… well… don’t read as much. Or perhaps don’t need to read as much…
I would love to read more of your Sunday Ruminations if at all possible: those have been absolutely amazing.
Thanks for all the good times and I really hope that your health isn’t as bad as I’m starting to think it is. I for one would consider you a great loss to the blog world.
jgc
Posted by on 12/02/2006 at 02:07 PMSorry to hear you haven’t been feeling well. I hope your health improves and you’re back to wellness.
However, now you really have me looking forward to your wonderful essays!
Posted by Fausta on 12/02/2006 at 04:10 PMIt would be a great loss if you were to stop writing altogether, so I’m just grateful that you’re going to write at all.
May your health improve and your days be filled with happiness.Posted by Keith on 12/02/2006 at 04:24 PMI, for one, will miss your prodigious and insightful output on politics (not that I don’t enjoy your non-political work). However, when the ice cream is free you can’t complain about the flavor. So I’ll add an “amen” to Keith (#6) above.
Posted by on 12/02/2006 at 04:53 PMSorry to read of health health problem, Francis. I hope they are transitory. Your work is much appreciated.
Posted by Col. Bunny on 12/02/2006 at 08:04 PMFran, I’m troubled to read of your health problems: I’ll be keeping you in my prayers.
As for your blogging, make whatever adjustments you feel are called for; and know that you are read, and very much appreciated, out here amidst the cornfields of Iowa.
Posted by Paul Burgess on 12/02/2006 at 08:31 PMWith all respect, Fran, I have to tell you that I disagree strongly, here. What you call an obsessive compulsive neurosis I would refer to as “fighting the good fight”. Yes, there are those who let politics take over their lives. But I approach the subject of politics a little differently then do some, and I suggest you try it again. And I say again because it’s seemed to me you always have.
... it’s an angle I’ve often written about in these spaces, and in my own blog as well.
I view a person’s politics as a reflection, albeit in some cases a slightly distorted reflection, of their personal beliefs and I view politics as a means to an end. That end being your belief structure having a stronger voice in the world around us. I’m not speaking of religions, specifically. Rather, I’m talking about culture. And of course religion is a part of every major culture. It’s driving force if you will. Which is why I have several times in the last few years publicly registered annoyance at pictures of Bill Clinton strolling his sorry butt out of the church in the DC area with a huge Bible in his hand that you know darn well he’s not cracked in over twenty years, for example. Here is someone to whom politics is everything. And because there’s nothing beneath that. Similarly, Hillary Clinton. And I suppose I’ll have the opportunity to get to her over the next couple of years, since as much as anything else mine is a current events commentary blog… and barring a bus or a bullet she’s going to be part of our public discussion for the next two years at least.
That said, though, there is a major difference between that kind of individual, and people such as you and I and the literally millions of others who are out there batting electrons around for the purpose of engaging hearts and minds in our way of thinking; We get involved in politics and the arguing their of because we are passionate in our personal beliefs. We are fighting for the survival of our culture by standing up for our own beliefs and those of our culture. It really is that cut and dried.
Fran, you and I have disagreed on several points on and off for years now. But I’ve always had a healthy dollop of respect for you, because, Hell, high water, or good governemnt, you were passionate about your beliefs; willing to stand up for them, willing to speak out for them. In the end, willing to fight for them. I’ve never perceived your arguments as overtly political per se’, because I have invariably seen your comments as viewing politics as I do; a means to an end…
And personally, I don’t know is I be overly concerned about the approach of the grave, At least, insofar as what you write about. First, because of the faith that you have described to us.
Secondly, consider; That end comes to us all. The ones who get remembered past it, are the ones who continue speaking up for their beliefs in the face of it… as a re- reading of the writings of Paul might suggest to you.
Posted by Bithead on 12/03/2006 at 01:54 AMI’m sorry to hear about your physical health problems.
I guess most order their knowledge and come to a single big thing. For Mark Steyn it is demographics, for Thomas Sowell economica and values, for you I suspect it is faith and redemption, for me it is politics.
I sort of view it this way: no sooner than people became self aware than many tried to live at the expanse of other people. The whole enterprise is as ugly and nasty as slavery was.
Normal politis for the vast majority of humankind for the vast majority of recorded history was simply about who lived at the expense of whom.
Western civilization and capitalism made it possible for a new politics - not perfect by any means - where politics concerned itself with procedure, equality under law, private property and contract. The development was analogous to abolition.
An honest look at slavery or a collectivist system that allows some to live at the expense of others, and the ways force must be used, truth must be sacrificed, brutality becomes requisite, makes me always restless, always looking at political developments, always dissatisfied with the direction of my Country.
Yet I can’t simply say that my concern yields no results - the Democrats win elections, and even if not, the state expands.
As in the case of slavery, I have to be opposed to it and I have to make my opossition more than a private thought in my head. I have to do what I am able to try to change things even if it will not succeed.
Posted by Doug_S on 12/03/2006 at 11:03 PMAs others have already said, write what you will and we’ll be here to read it.
Posted by Sarah on 12/04/2006 at 01:43 PM
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