Its real structures are nothing like the theoretical nets we cast to hold it. Final deadline is here and gone; report completed and filed. The great void lies ahead.
I’m reading Runciman’s three-volume history of the Crusades now. What a long and sordid tale of gangsterism, rapaciousness, and bad ideas carried out in the name of religion. This stuff never ends and never will. The best we can hope for is to live our way around it, maybe bore the occasional hole into it and do some damage, and keep our heads held high and eyes on what matters. The world will always be full of bad people given full rein to put their terrible ideas into practice. We’re supposed to make that stop through the power of persuasion? Fat chance.
Sauve qui peut la vie, maybe someday. For now it’s going to have to suffice that we steer clear of the worst pitfalls, spread some happiness around ourselves, and live with dignity.
