My national wise (wo)men of the 20th Century | 50 comments (50 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: My national wise (wo)men of the 20th Century (none / 1)

I know that much about both that they have been thrown around a lot by the storm of the 20th century, both in life and ideology, so I would probably not grant "wise"

I thought to put this more bluntly: the way I see it, in the mess of the 20th century, wisdom was a luxury one has in the comfort of one's four walls. If one ventured outside, not many choices were open -- one could get dirty, get compromised, or be a hero and get killed or not achieve much in the big picture.

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Thu Feb 5th, 2009 at 06:19:07 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: My national wise (wo)men of the 20th Century (none / 1)

So your list is on wise people who ventured out, and kept wise, so finished dead...

TRue, a frequent fate of wise men. Other just disappear or start to drink...

"If you don't want a man unhappy politically, don't give him two sides to a question to worry him; give him one. Better yet, give him none." (Fahrenheit 451)

by pereulok on Thu Feb 5th, 2009 at 06:45:34 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: My national wise (wo)men of the 20th Century (none / 0)

N-n-n-o, in my book, venturing out and dying is usually a sign of failure, and as such unwise. (It can still be heroic, it can still save some people, but that's another thing.) My view is that there was no room for real wisdom in public in hard times.

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Thu Feb 5th, 2009 at 07:47:41 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: My national wise (wo)men of the 20th Century (none / 0)

DoDo:

I thought to put this more bluntly: the way I see it, in the mess of the 20th century, wisdom was a luxury one has in the comfort of one's four walls.

wow, that really hit a nerve, dodo.

i see it a bit like being partisans during the ~~nazi occupation~~ invasion of the zombie souls-snatchers!

with words instead of guns, and no desire for glory other than the freedom to think, speak and act freely from the heart.

'The history of public debt is full of irony. It rarely follows our ideas of order and justice.' Thomas Piketty

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Thu Feb 5th, 2009 at 06:47:28 AM EST
[ Parent ]

My national wise (wo)men of the 20th Century | 50 comments (50 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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