Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
`My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
Percy Bysshe Shelley
6 comments:
"Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came" by Robert Browning.
"My first thought was,He lied with every word..." and the description of the wastelands. Seems somehow prophetic.
This poem inspired Steven Kings "Dark Tower" series btw.
You also can't go wrong with
By the Waters of Babylon
http://www.tkinter.smig.net/Outings/RosemountGhosts/Babylon.htm
Yes it's very good.
When I went to San Antonio this past August there was a lot of time to muse. I was struck by the way the overpasses are decorated though very few drivers notice. How there were levels and levels -seven it seems - of cars driving without thought or worry. The sight against an evening sky built by the lowest builder to hold fully loaded semis stuck in traffic yet no one doubted the thing would hold. A trip to the moon is held up as man's great achievement yet very few of us will ever make that trip. But the lowly freeway with its many levels can be used by anyone with a desire to go anywhere. It saddens me to read preppers who are in a rush to welcome the downfall of man and government. As if by magic we will use our preps, sing freedom songs and liberty will shine forth again. It is one thing to tear down & quite another to build. What kind of world will be created by people who cannot even make their own toliet paper to clean the mess they've left behind? A highway to heaven or one to hell built by the lowest builder giving us the freedom to choose which way to drive. I worry for the kids who won't have our same choices.
Sorry for the blog.
Hiya Stephi:
You can blog as much as you like...feel free.
One of the most uncomfortable feelings is that our children might be "worse off" than we are. I would sit down, drink a beer, and take a long look at that statement.
When you look at it, we are worried that our children will look at us a greedy shits who took more than our fair share, leaving them what the littlest pig got. They may well be right if they think that.
But I don't know if that is saying that they will have a "worse" life than we do. They will be appreciably poorer in material possessions, but is that the be all and end all of happiness?
I some from a long line of poor folk. I am certain that they had good lives because I always remember the happiness and joy mixed into the poverty.
So when you worry about your children, worry about the content of their character, not the possessions that constrain them.
We haven't been too high on the old hog either. It seems that in reading prep sites the stress is on the three b's and beauty isn't one of them. Shelter, food, and adequate protection is what we need but it isn't what makes us human, successful animals have that too. If we don't remember to make time for the beauty and the discussions then have we really prepped? One of the first things most pioneers did was find a way to have beauty through music, books, or good discussions. I don't want to see knowledge become a magic just for the elite. A good imagination can make weeding an obnoxously long row of onions bearable. Its hard to express but the thought that describes it is a phrase from some forgotten reading "in the halls of the dead..." Prepping should be about more than keeping kids fed, warm, and safe and that more can not be bought in the store. kwim
I guess what is trying to come across is how will future generations define freedom? Will it be the same as our definition? What will we need to teach them about freedom? If all we consentrate on is food, shelter and safety then freedom is reduced to freedom from hunger, danger, and weather. Isn't that what the ptb have reduced freedom to today? That's what makes sheeple believe they are free. Aren't we just delaying the day our children become sheeple if we don't plan & prep for more than bbb.
Just some thoughts unpacking on a dreary day.
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