One down, many more to go.

I finished Rene Daumal's "You've Always Been Wrong" today. Overall, it was an interesting book, though I don't know if he actually says much new. Time has a way of repeating itself, and as I finished this book, Thoreau's well-worn quote, "the mass of men live lives of quiet desperation" or something very similar came to mind. Daumal didn't live long enough to see how wrong communism as implemented in Russia went, nor how disastrous it was in the lives of the proletariat everywhere it was implemented. While he did mention that the powers that lead a revolution also put in place safeguards to keep them in power, why he doesn't foresee this with Marxism escapes me. What I can agree with him about is that it is the duty of every man, whether artist, thinker, writer, or farmer to constantly be awake, and try to awaken his fellow man. If everyone shrugs the responsibilities of society, then problems will arise, and stifling new government which can maintain order will rise, hence the Taliban in Afghanistan and any number of other repressive regimes through the ages. Balancing this wakefulness with some sort of social order, where the masses feel secure, is the trick, and what may be the most effective way to do this is by keeping those in power in power for a limited duration, but even that isn't working very well if you look at the government in the United States (and the abuses of power in the current elected administration). A wake-up call of sorts happened in the last elections, but in a two party state, it will only last 4-6 years, and then reverse itself--such is our cycle of waking and sleeping. People wonder about voter apathy, and I think I just explained why it exists, as it seems that regardless of which party is in power, most things don't change. That is what there is to work with here, and from that basis, there may still be room to work within the system, as Jefferson probably wouldn't agree with replacing it just yet.