Monday, April 22, 2019

"But That Was Yesterday!"

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,
miserere eis.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,
dona eis requiem.)

Do you remember what you said and did a thousand years ago?
Where is yesterday?
Do you remember what you said and did a thousand weeks ago?
Where is yesterday?

Yesterday in crannies or in nooks you will not find…
Yesterday in chronicles or books you will not find…
All you see of yesterday is shadows in your mind…
Shadows on the pavement but no bodies do you find.

Do you believe that snows of winters long ago return again?
Where is yesterday?
A voice you knew a thousand years ago you can't remember when?
Where is yesterday?

Here is only waiting for a day that went before…
Here is only waiting for an answer at the door…
Here is only living without knowing why for sure…
Here is something gone you cannot find it anymore.

[“Where Is Yesterday?” Gordon Marron / Dorothy Moskowitz]

     I am old. As with many old persons, I am much given to thinking of earlier times in the history of our Republic. Some of those times were definitely flawed, at least by contemporary standards. Others were brutally bloody. And all are being effaced from the minds of our youngest compatriots.

     As I prepare to give away large portions of my beloved library, in preparation for other dislocations of my existence of which I shall not speak, those thoughts are with me more powerfully than ever. Books are our memories, in particular of people we never knew and events we did not personally witness. To part with a book has always cost me extraordinary pain…but still more, it costs me the memories associated with it. I’ve always awarded my highest disdain to persons who can casually discard a book.

     How much more disdain – nay, condemnation, verging on actual hatred — should be awarded to those who would erase history? Yours, mine, our nation’s, or that of any other segment of Mankind?

     It’s only a few days back that Library Journal actually declared that libraries are too full of books! Yea, verily…but how could any librarian say such a thing? Simple: by hewing to the dictates of the New Fascism, also known as political correctness. You see, the great majority of books written in English were written by male Caucasians of European descent: in other words, white men. That’s discriminatory! It offends the sensibilities of those who hate whites and men, and therefore all evidence of it must be destroyed.

     This is entirely consistent with the Left’s program to deny all knowledge of history, with all its features, to the awareness of the young.

     You’ve heard the old saying “If you don’t know where you’ve been, how will you know where you’re going,” haven’t you? The Left knows it quite well.

     On most mornings I ramble on enough for any three bloggers. Today I can’t manage it. In part that’s because of a gaggle of recent events, including the blaze at Notre Dame de Paris, yesterday’s atrocities in Sri Lanka, and this story from a year ago, which somehow escaped my notice until this morning. But in equal or greater measure it’s because of a growing conviction that what I say here is being rendered incomprehensible to those who will most regret not understanding it. Its obscurity derives almost entirely from the snuffing out of our national, cultural, religious, and racial memory.

     I need to pray. That’s all for this morning. Have a nice day.

6 comments:

NITZAKHON said...

You've channeled Orwell very well... what was it he said? “The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.”

This is why, in parallel, the Islamists destroy all remnants of the civilization from before they conquered it. (I'm very fortunate to have been to Persepolis, the ancient ruins of the capitol of Persia. Would love to go back someday.)

Linda Fox said...

I first found out about this in 2001, when I talked to a librarian. There was a state program that insisted that librarians cull less-read books, in order to get money for their library. The library dumped a LOT of books at that time.

Some dumping makes sense - crumbing books may be a fire hazard, for example. Thanks to the chuckleheaded Progressives that have made many libraries a dumping ground for the homeless during the day, bedbugs are a problem, and they have found a new hiding spot in some books (adaptive little critters, aren't they?).

Some books you can make a reasonable case for getting rid of - old business books of the 1980s, popular fiction that has aged badly, etc.

Others should be, if not kept, digitized - old recipe books, housekeeping books, old folk medical remedies, works by political thinkers, whether classic or not (even those written by political hacks form a valuable resource for future researchers). Cultural heritage books should be kept, if only digitally.

I'm reminded of the old Joni Mitchell song - Big Yellow Taxi (popularly known as They Paved Paradise, and Put up a Parking Lot). Notre Dame is mourned by many, but, oddly enough, the Catholics are not always as bothered by the artistic loss as that of Christian heritage. Which is more important, the building, or the faith that has been relentlessly taken out of public life. France, since the days of Napoleon, has been irrevocably secular, and quite hostile to religion.

I'm putting some time into building up my pdf/text library on my external hard drive. If anyone knows of an app that would make searching for books in digitized format easier, let me know. I'm doing it, assuming that there will access to e-books in the future. If the EMP actually happens, well, it's goodbye to history. I'm gambling that it will not be such an abrupt end.

What's most important is to keep blogging, writing, communicating. The torch must be passed, and not just to a narrow segment, like Christians. If the target is too specific, they can be eliminated more easily. We need to become the "kewl" wise old guys, that will improve the likelihood of keeping the flame alive.

Linda Fox said...

"crumbliing"

NITZAKHON said...

There's a reason I buy physical books. (And, worst comes to absolute worst, paper burns / can be used to start fires... shudder, I'd hate to have to do that.)

I remember, pre-Y2K, going to gun shows and seeing all these survival manuals. On DVDs / CDs. Really?

Adrienne said...

Our library is culling books like crazy and selling them for a quarter. I look them over and have determined that a quarter is overpriced for most of them.

Which brings me to today's fiction. In a word - terrible (except for you.)

As to getting rid of books? I did it and it didn't kill me. My collection is down to about 75 books now.

Spiritual stuff? I hate to encourage a book purchase, buuuuuuuut have you a copy of The Soul of The Apostolate by Jean-Baptiste Chautard O.C.S.O? If not - get one! https://amzn.to/2KVC2qy

Selfish Dave said...

Yes, the problem with the new books is that they keep us from reading the old books. Unfortunately Libraries only buy new books. Unfortunately, the Classics don't get read by many homeless. Thank goodness for ABEBOOKS.com. They redistribute classics for small money. My problem is "to whom shall I leave my incredible library." Thomas Jefferson had the same problem. He donated his library to a University. Of course, I believe he had to found the University first. Dave Sweeny, Bookworm, son of Madge the Librarian.