I will share three George Orwell quotes though:
"A happy vicar I might have been
Two hundred years ago,
To Preach upon eternal doom
And watch my walnuts grow"
"Clearly there was only one escape for them-- into stupidity. They could keep society in its existing shape only by being unable to grasp that any improvement was possible. Difficult though this was, they achieved it, largely by fixing their eyes on the past and refusing to notice the changes that were going on round them."
"Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind."
To Preach upon eternal doom
And watch my walnuts grow"
"Clearly there was only one escape for them-- into stupidity. They could keep society in its existing shape only by being unable to grasp that any improvement was possible. Difficult though this was, they achieved it, largely by fixing their eyes on the past and refusing to notice the changes that were going on round them."
"Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind."
Don't sound so discouraged Luke, I'm fairly certain that you have much more than six faithful readers. -Many, like myself, probably don't take the time to comment but I do appreciate your thoughtful posts. It's nice to have a more balance perspective when so many blogs and public perception here are swayed by emotion and popular (sometimes illogical) sentiment.
ReplyDeleteJust curious, but in a recent post you noted: "On Kaua’i, we have lost 7,400 acres of tillable land since 2007 accompanied by a 28% decrease in small (under 9 acre) farms." -Thought that was fairly interesting.. can you tell me where you got those numbers?
Mahalo and keep blogging!
Thank you very much for your kind words. I'm never discouraged. Every time I pull taro or read thoughtful political commentary I am genuinely inspired. I just seem to have run out of writing time recently.
DeleteThose facts came from Jerry Ornellas at the Hawai'i Green Growth sponsored county sustainability briefing at KCC on June 4th. He opened his remarks by basically saying that we're going backwards when it comes to ag on Kaua'i, and it's hard to be optimistic when "we haven't made progress."
Thanks again for reading and commenting.
Aloha,
Adding my words of support as well. Kauaʻi can use more thoughtful voices like this, but at the same time there is no problem whatsoever with intermittent blogging when other priorities take over. Your essays clearly take time for contemplation and cannot be squeezed, unlike many bloggers who snap a photo and add a few words and they are done.
ReplyDeleteThat second quote about escape into stupidity is wonderful insight and seems to aptly express a major challenge of modern political discourse. Talking heads from the right and left do not seem to be able to agree on even the most basic facts and assumptions, but just pontificate from there entrenched positions, talking past each other. But refusing to accept nonsense and searching for reliable facts is not easy, seemingly too much effort for almost everyone.
Good for you pursuing sustainability, working the land, and as you wrote recently (Off-grid hypocrisy, http://kawaehawaii.blogspot.com/2014/07/off-grid-hypocrisy.html) you actually are aware where the raw materials you need come from and have a sense for the impacts of what you are doing. By going back to basics you have been able to get a real sense of at least the facts of that effort.
Looking forward to the next post, whenever that might be.
Aloha,
/Loren
http://tokauai.blogspot.com/
Thank you Loren. I really appreciate your words of support and your insight into the rhetoric of political warfare. Recently, I find myself commonly doing the same thing regarding complex issues such as genetic modification and Israel. Both sides of those debates resonate with me, but I end up entrenching myself in the corner and resorting to simplified logic whenever I get into a discussion about them. The only reason I'm even aware that I'm doing it is because I'll resort to the same tactic yet argue from both sides of the issue, depending on who I'm talking to. It's so hard to debate the full complexity of these issues when we are so quick to label each other (for example as either pro-GMO or anti-GMO).
DeleteIf we could just heed Obama's advice from one of his best (and now ironic) speeches:
"Democrats, independents and Republicans who are tired of the division and distraction that has clouded Washington, who know that we can disagree without being disagreeable, who understand that, if we mobilize our voices to challenge the money and influence that stood in our way and challenge ourselves to reach for something better, there is no problem we cannot solve, there is no destiny that we cannot fulfill."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/08/us/politics/08text-obama.html