Belmont Club » You Can’t Take It With You: "9. CowboyAs Orwell put it, they live in a "bourgeoise illusion bred of money and security".
I was at a Cub Scout camp last week, camping along the Virginia – West Virginia border. I got home from camp just in time for the lights to go out, and spent almost 3 days with power out all over my town. From this I’ve decided that when the grid goes the next time, I’d rather be in the hills than in the town.
The Cub Scout camp was Olympic themed, having events based around Homer’s Odyssey, and I had ample time in the woods to reflect on that great work. Its major theme is a surprising one to moderns, it’s one that goes almost unnoticed. But once you’re turned onto it you see it on every page, in every one of Odysseus’ encounters. This theme is the abuse of the guest-host relationship, the abuse of goodwill. This is the greatest sin for Homer, it marks the beginning of the Illiad (the Rape of Helen) and the end of the Odyssey (the Death of the Suitors) and every step of the way for Odysseus’ travels.
There I was, surrounded by a group of very ‘nice’ people. These were Northern Virginia yuppies and professionals with their boys, and this was Cub Scout mission striving to reflect all the wholesome values transmitted by that laudable moral institution, the Boy Scouts of America. On the whole, the edifice fell apart repeatedly."
The fall won't be pretty.
Posts
