The truth WILL out. And, as Mark Helprin once noted when talking about "the failed Clinton administration" (as Dave Barry humorously began calling it from the very first months of his term), "Truth is a force of nature."
Mark was right, is right. It is a force of nature. And you ignore it at your peril.
Dick's book is superior to the movies, much as I appreciate both movies. Dick is clear about who Deckard is, and the longing for a pet, an animal, any creature - any thing that is *real* is a very poignant and essential part of the story. And this is a recurring theme in a lot of science fiction, which is one reason why I think it is a valuable genre. And a hopeful one.
Meh, the book is pretty tame and forgettable. Deckard tripping on the empathy machine is more weird than profound. The movie, its pacing, its visuals, are all better and more memorable than the book.
This piece was not only fantastic on its own merits, it also evoked ripples of awareness throughout my life. My 91 year old father is the epitome of authentic. This week, he simply told me how “happy” he has been with his life. Born in 1934 of hardy farmers in SW Iowa, he knew and parlayed that knowledge of hard work to his everyday life. Steadfast to his Bible and love of Jesus, rising above life’s setbacks and spurning technology for books and greater knowledge, he has carved nearly a century of peace and integrity out of a world of increasing chaos.
He in turn, became the lighthouse I could turn to in navigating the storms of my life. Now, with my Bible in hand, a garden in my yard, books upon my shelves and the intentional ability to put down my iphone, I hope to pass on the “authenticity” I have inherited, down to my sons. Thank you for your work, and may God bless you and your family.
Thank you very much. My wife’s grandfather, recently passed, was born in 1929 and grew up on a farm in Missouri, right on the Iowa border. Maybe our relatives’ paths crossed at some point.
The New World, something I’ve seen quite a few times, reminds me of possibilities through the voice of a fictional version of John Smith, though a bit too Puritan for my liking:
“Who are you whom I so faintly hear? Who urge me ever on? What voice is this that speaks within me... guides me towards the best? We shall make a new start. A fresh beginning. Here the blessings of the earth are bestowed upon all. None need grow poor. Here there is good ground for all, and no cost but one's labor. We shall build a true common wealth, hard work and self reliance our virtues. We shall have no landlords to rack us with high rents or extort the fruit of our labor.”
Excellent essay. I believe one of the primary reasons for the widespread dissatisfaction with the modern world is its insistence on the erasure of particularity. Globalism, multiculturalism, feminism, secularism--even the International Style of architecture--all seek to reduce difference and particularity until we end up in the universal and homogeneous state. Hegel writes that the human will necessarily enacts the universal, and history, as the temporal playground for the human will, necessarily culminates in such a state. But, as you note, people view this trend as dissatisfying--as anti-human. We are discovering that our particularity is our humanness, that we can love the particular and will the particular. As you note with your comment on rootedness, a man is only authentic within a certain particular context. The task of the new man is to retake his particularity in the form of a nation, a people, a soul, a religion, a culture. Only so may he be authentic.
I think the foregrounding of the fakeness is key. It’s less, “here’s an artificial version of something real” and more “it’s purely unnatural and you have no choice,” except we do.
The foregrounding of the choice also. That there is a better way to live, and that the fruits of this life are already borne by those who choose it, is causing man's desire to awaken. Where there is no way forth (απορία), there is merely apathy. When a way opens up, the soul is revitalized.
A nice piece, the better for including film critique. And I hope you're right. I hope, in particular, that people striving for the real will be able to find each other, and thus have the strength to make something real, against the waves of artificiality. I hope the gasping leviathan of managerialism doesn't seek those people out as enemies, but ignores them.
The Remnant will be what it has always been - REAL, rooted, and grounded in timeless Truths, regardless of the state of technology; conversely, the Mass will be what it has always been - variegated specie of idolators.
And my 15 yr old arrogant, agnostic self cannot believe I wrote those words, but there it is - there's hope for anyone.
Nice piece, Mr. Librarian.
(N.B. Dick's story is rather different than the movie - maybe the most different adaptation of any of his many stories-turned-movie - but I think I like the movie better and it's one of the few examples I can think of like that.)
The future is bright. Small communities of like-minded people working together to achieve optimal quality of life. Focus on real, not virtual skills/experiences. You can intuit it clear as day.
Building one now. Started with my immediate family and goal is to expand to 10 more. Bring in young families and enable them to grow their wealth without struggling to survive while enjoying excellent quality of life beyond what they can achieve individually.
Great article. The world is not fallen. It’s awesome.
I have been experimenting with book binding, as I have some poetry projects I am working on, and an established writing mentor assures me no one publishes poetry that is not The Current Thing. I have a mind to build a boutique publishing company selling hand bound, leather bound books.
There is a learning curve; I will have hard copy notebooks to last the rest of my days, and they are a lesson in the economics of scale. Anyone want to buy a janky 50pg notebook for $200, if comparing it to what I get paid for detail carpentry? I'm sure I will become much more efficient, even as I improve the quality.
Excellent essay. I really do think you have a vision for the civilization era we're entering. But I think you should talk more about basic necessities like food and shelter. People didn't vote for Trump only because Biden's government represented a gray, inauthentic shell, but because they were scared for their kids and meat was too expensive. The Reenchantment or Authentic Age or whatever comes next will only last as long as most people are materially satisfied/
Excellent read. I feel it is what CS Lewis said, in what we are trying to put on top of nature is really nature itself. It's always there and we just realise that it was it all the time.
I am a romantic idealist by nature and have been hoping/praying that the fraudulent nature of AI(you are unable to distinguish what is “real”) will drive people back to in person interactions. Tangible, provable will be the coin of the realm.
The truth WILL out. And, as Mark Helprin once noted when talking about "the failed Clinton administration" (as Dave Barry humorously began calling it from the very first months of his term), "Truth is a force of nature."
Mark was right, is right. It is a force of nature. And you ignore it at your peril.
Dick's book is superior to the movies, much as I appreciate both movies. Dick is clear about who Deckard is, and the longing for a pet, an animal, any creature - any thing that is *real* is a very poignant and essential part of the story. And this is a recurring theme in a lot of science fiction, which is one reason why I think it is a valuable genre. And a hopeful one.
Meh, the book is pretty tame and forgettable. Deckard tripping on the empathy machine is more weird than profound. The movie, its pacing, its visuals, are all better and more memorable than the book.
Philistine, it’s above your head.
Authentic, transcendent realism is what I attempt in my work too. Nice piece.
Thank you very much. I’d definitely say you’ve achieved that.
kind of you to say
This piece was not only fantastic on its own merits, it also evoked ripples of awareness throughout my life. My 91 year old father is the epitome of authentic. This week, he simply told me how “happy” he has been with his life. Born in 1934 of hardy farmers in SW Iowa, he knew and parlayed that knowledge of hard work to his everyday life. Steadfast to his Bible and love of Jesus, rising above life’s setbacks and spurning technology for books and greater knowledge, he has carved nearly a century of peace and integrity out of a world of increasing chaos.
He in turn, became the lighthouse I could turn to in navigating the storms of my life. Now, with my Bible in hand, a garden in my yard, books upon my shelves and the intentional ability to put down my iphone, I hope to pass on the “authenticity” I have inherited, down to my sons. Thank you for your work, and may God bless you and your family.
Thank you very much. My wife’s grandfather, recently passed, was born in 1929 and grew up on a farm in Missouri, right on the Iowa border. Maybe our relatives’ paths crossed at some point.
This is why I garden.
Noble undertaking.
The New World, something I’ve seen quite a few times, reminds me of possibilities through the voice of a fictional version of John Smith, though a bit too Puritan for my liking:
“Who are you whom I so faintly hear? Who urge me ever on? What voice is this that speaks within me... guides me towards the best? We shall make a new start. A fresh beginning. Here the blessings of the earth are bestowed upon all. None need grow poor. Here there is good ground for all, and no cost but one's labor. We shall build a true common wealth, hard work and self reliance our virtues. We shall have no landlords to rack us with high rents or extort the fruit of our labor.”
Great movie, a meditation on human potential, loss, and the connections that make life meaningful.
Excellent essay. I believe one of the primary reasons for the widespread dissatisfaction with the modern world is its insistence on the erasure of particularity. Globalism, multiculturalism, feminism, secularism--even the International Style of architecture--all seek to reduce difference and particularity until we end up in the universal and homogeneous state. Hegel writes that the human will necessarily enacts the universal, and history, as the temporal playground for the human will, necessarily culminates in such a state. But, as you note, people view this trend as dissatisfying--as anti-human. We are discovering that our particularity is our humanness, that we can love the particular and will the particular. As you note with your comment on rootedness, a man is only authentic within a certain particular context. The task of the new man is to retake his particularity in the form of a nation, a people, a soul, a religion, a culture. Only so may he be authentic.
I think the foregrounding of the fakeness is key. It’s less, “here’s an artificial version of something real” and more “it’s purely unnatural and you have no choice,” except we do.
The foregrounding of the choice also. That there is a better way to live, and that the fruits of this life are already borne by those who choose it, is causing man's desire to awaken. Where there is no way forth (απορία), there is merely apathy. When a way opens up, the soul is revitalized.
A nice piece, the better for including film critique. And I hope you're right. I hope, in particular, that people striving for the real will be able to find each other, and thus have the strength to make something real, against the waves of artificiality. I hope the gasping leviathan of managerialism doesn't seek those people out as enemies, but ignores them.
I look at film and books and art to help me understand trends the way others look at numbers.
"A bit of background on the issue... [proceeds to quote from the epic of Gilgamesh.]" Close enough, welcome back Vladimir Putin.
Putin only went back to Rurik. He totally missed out on the significance of Constantine the Great.
The Remnant will be what it has always been - REAL, rooted, and grounded in timeless Truths, regardless of the state of technology; conversely, the Mass will be what it has always been - variegated specie of idolators.
And my 15 yr old arrogant, agnostic self cannot believe I wrote those words, but there it is - there's hope for anyone.
Nice piece, Mr. Librarian.
(N.B. Dick's story is rather different than the movie - maybe the most different adaptation of any of his many stories-turned-movie - but I think I like the movie better and it's one of the few examples I can think of like that.)
Brilliant piece, not only talks about the thing but shows the thing. Well done!
The false front cannot work. The van life does not nourish. What emerges will be solidity.
Great work, keep it up!
Thank you very much.
The future is bright. Small communities of like-minded people working together to achieve optimal quality of life. Focus on real, not virtual skills/experiences. You can intuit it clear as day.
Building one now. Started with my immediate family and goal is to expand to 10 more. Bring in young families and enable them to grow their wealth without struggling to survive while enjoying excellent quality of life beyond what they can achieve individually.
Great article. The world is not fallen. It’s awesome.
Thank you very much.
I have been experimenting with book binding, as I have some poetry projects I am working on, and an established writing mentor assures me no one publishes poetry that is not The Current Thing. I have a mind to build a boutique publishing company selling hand bound, leather bound books.
There is a learning curve; I will have hard copy notebooks to last the rest of my days, and they are a lesson in the economics of scale. Anyone want to buy a janky 50pg notebook for $200, if comparing it to what I get paid for detail carpentry? I'm sure I will become much more efficient, even as I improve the quality.
Excellent piece, and I agree in every respect.
There’s a market for it, and one for restoring old books.
Excellent essay. I really do think you have a vision for the civilization era we're entering. But I think you should talk more about basic necessities like food and shelter. People didn't vote for Trump only because Biden's government represented a gray, inauthentic shell, but because they were scared for their kids and meat was too expensive. The Reenchantment or Authentic Age or whatever comes next will only last as long as most people are materially satisfied/
Excellent read. I feel it is what CS Lewis said, in what we are trying to put on top of nature is really nature itself. It's always there and we just realise that it was it all the time.
Very true
Great essay.
Thank you Tree of Woe.
I am a romantic idealist by nature and have been hoping/praying that the fraudulent nature of AI(you are unable to distinguish what is “real”) will drive people back to in person interactions. Tangible, provable will be the coin of the realm.