Monday, April 13, 2020

Will things get back to normal?

Setting aside the semantic questions regarding "normality" and "where things are now," it might be useful to bring to bear some metaphors.  Melville comes to mind.  Or, compare Heart of Darkness, specifically the views expressed by the manager of the Middle Station as he speaks to a minion about getting rid of Mr. Kurtz. Unknown to the two men, Marlowe is listening above, half-asleep on the deck of the steamboat. The manager says, "You can count on this!" and he extends his hand to indicate the cannibal jungle around them.  Shocked--and of course he is half-asleep--Marlowe nearly hits his head against the deck.

Of course, we do not live in a jungle, and we can count on this.

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