Time Out

There's nothing new under the sun. You know that. I've cited King Solomon on several occasions since the words were his, having appeared in Ecclesiastes (Kohelet), thousands of years ago. They probably weren't new then, but I don't propose to look into them any further. However old the idea, it is always true. “The more things change, the more they remain the same.”

Every now and again I interrupt the egotistical publishing of my thoughts and embark on the even more egotistical exercise of evaluating the process of their writing. The usual result is that I am struck by the frequency of my own repetitions. My essays fall into three categories. The first of them is try to convince others of the truth of my own thoughts – thoughts that I know to be valid. (Since I know more than anyone else, I'm convinced that everyone would benefit from my wisdom.) They include my own political philosophy – relatively conservative – which glorifies the past while bemoaning the changes that have taken place over the years. I'm patriotic (chauvinistic?) and I admire greatly the contributions of the Founding Fathers. Such a stance is bound to be critical of those who promote change, and of the changes they have promoted. I also belittle modern technology (though composing this on my computer, I reject “smart” 'phones and similar devices) and modern culture.

I also castigate those people, nations, and organizations that substitute “pragmatic” for “honorable.” Surely they consider their views and their actions to be the appropriate ones to achieve their ends – and that may be the case – but they don't see “right” and “wrong” as relevant factors when deciding on the means. They either don't recognize, or don't care about their own biases.

The second category of my ramblings relates to those areas in which I am less certain. I originally described this effort as one that gave me the opportunity to work out ideas that were confusing to me or troubling – ideas that left me unsettled; ideas that had not gelled into “knowledge.” Most prominent among these were those relating to belief. Since belief is, virtually by definition, non-rational, there is no likelihood that I will ever reach a firm conclusion about it, since when I do it will cease to be “belief” and will become “knowledge.”

Everything else, irrespective of concept or format, falls into the third category. That applies, among other things, to subjects chosen because they interest me even if they're of no consequence to anyone else, pure fiction, and my personal blather. By now I suspect that you've accommodated yourself to all of these.

You may view today's message as an example of personal blather, but I consider it to be an update on the style of these essays. I have, in the past, relied on the use of footnotes to convey my thoughts. Sometimes these served to advise the reader of the source of a quotation or fact that I included; sometimes they served as a site for the presentation of an idea that didn't fit conveniently in the primary text. This kind of format seemed obvious to me since most of what I read is heavily-footnoted non-fiction, where it serves a useful purpose. I need time to consider what I have just read, and the footnote provides the “time-out” that caters to this need.

I recently read a non-fiction book, however, that eschewed such devices, and I found it to be delightful, and much easier to digest than my other “reads.” Clearly the nature of the subject material was receptive to such a presentation, and the author's ability to convey information interestingly had more to do with the success of the venture than the lack of footnotes, but it became clear to me that my future essays should lack such “aids”so I shall never use them again.ⁱ As it says in Pirke Avot, though the context is different, the “loss disappears in [the] gain.”

So when I return with the next episode, don't look for any help in identifying the source of my ideas – and I probably stole them anyway. Don't ask, and I won't tell. As for my other thoughts, you probably don't care.

Next episode: “All Men (And Women)” – And anyone who doesn't feel “himself” covered by those designations.

I        Never say “never.” There will be rare occasions when I might throw in a footnote because I feel I can't avoid it, but I'll try to limit those occurrences. You're on your own.