At this point they came in sight of thirty, forty windmills that there are on plain, and as soon as Don Quixote saw them he said to his squire, "Fortune is arranging matters for us better than we could have shaped our desires ourselves, for look there, friend Sancho Panza, where thirty or more monstrous giants present themselves, all of whom I mean to engage in battle and slay, and with whose spoils we shall begin to make our fortunes; for this is righteous warfare, and it is God's good service to sweep so evil a breed from off the face of the earth."
--Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote (Ch. 8)
What a calling, to be both crazy and to work to restore a golden age; to restore a sense of peace and happiness to the world...er through battle (of course in this case it happens to be windmills). Of course the word restoration may be too far-fetched as I cannot recall such an age in human history. A little help?
What a calling, to be both crazy and to work to restore a golden age; to restore a sense of peace and happiness to the world...er through battle (of course in this case it happens to be windmills). Of course the word restoration may be too far-fetched as I cannot recall such an age in human history. A little help?
4 comments:
Depends on what you are looking at as a "Golden Age". There were definite high points for many different societies. For instance, in China the Tang Dynasty is often considered the high point of history, when Buddism came to China and Confucian though spread rapidly. Printing was invented and amazingly talented leaders increased the realm (good for some, not for all). Of course this high point was in the 7th century when Europe was still trying to figure itself out after the Roman Empire fell.
Course those crazy Romans also might be seen as a high point. Really, though, they had a decently effective and open system. You got to love a place that offered its people freedoms of idea, religion and livelihood that rival modern day thought. Of course, many areas were strictly taken over, but once controlled, they were often free to do what they wanted in a very prosperous governmental system.
But I can't really picture a period of time when it came together for the entire world. But hey, Bush ALMOST has peace going over there in the Middle East, so it is only a matter of time, right?
I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not. I thought this was a caustic criticism of the zealot-warrior. There never has been a "golden age" as such, but we do seem to remember the past with a certain fondness and idealism that lets us forget things like chronic dental pain or the inquisition.
It sounds like you are saying that Tom Browkaw and his book "The Greatest Generation" were full of shit. For shame!
They may have been the greatest generation in his rather limited experience. Hell, I don't know if I can argue that they weren't the greatest, but I'd still like to see how we handle ourselves in an increasingly crowded and consumptive world. We have the capacity to do more with the world they left us.
I don't think there is a golden era because there has never been a time when life has been so easy - even with the barriers we have now. I think it's easy to lose sight that because we are bombarded with stories of danger and plight. But, this is one of the few times when it's possible for the stories of more than just the privileged and educated to be passed on. The history we read of the plantation owner sounds peachy, but I hope we've elevated and educated ourselves to a greater degree than ever. At least we're pretending our slaves are free and compensated.
I'm incredibly pessimistic about the future, but have enough hope that I'm willing to bring a child in to it. I have to think we're capable of identifying the right enemy, the right giants and pursuing them the right way.
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