maga Hook, Line and Sinker; footmanism
Reading Moby Dick.
Who would have thought that Moby Dick was a religious text? They haven’t even set sail yet and Melville has more than one riff in his text that reads just like A Course in Miracles which I always am harping on. ACIM is one of those things that once you see it, you see it everywhere.
Oligarchs and footmanism. Actually the word was coined by Melville. Evidently footmen ran along beside, arriving at the destination in time to help the oligarch down from the carriage. Did they really? I have always seen them gripping the ass of the carriage riding along. But running along beside makes sense, horses didn’t gallop everywhere. Their suspension probably wasn’t good enough to gallop with delicate oligarch passengers.
Running along beside, footmanism, is what people do when they see an oligarch. I don’t begrudge people becoming fabulously wealthy for building a better car, making a delicious sandwich, or even “I’ll be your friend website”. But why, oh why, do we fall for footmanism turning our heads and being unable to resist the riptide of power and wealth. We will fall face down in the mud to help the oligarch ascend to trillionaire status.
I joined Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes. I understand our local is going to have a class/lecture series on Moby Dick this spring. I am reading it now. All I can say is thank my lucky stars that they didn’t choose James Joyce. (I can’t, I just can’t). Anyhow, I am very curious if the class/lecture will see what I see. I will make a real effort to zip my lip.
I found Melville and DeFoe surprisingly easy reads. But I am armed with an online dictionary and Google search at my fingertips. Sometimes Melville does become just words, but not for long. Maybe the class will talk about that. DeFoe surprised me so much at how he could make lists interesting. But deliver me from James Joyce, or hand me a rubric cube in shades of gray. Omg. I’m a goner.
At any rate, I am always talking about feudalism. I hear about communism, socialism, capitalism, but I really doubt if we have really matured more than footmanism. Throwing our virgins into the ravenous maw of the oligarch class. Throwing our faces into the mud to keep the oligarch’s feet dry and warm.
I didn’t know this was going to be so long. Thank my lucky stars it saved. I should have written it in something native to my computer hard drive. Oh well I’m a lucky cockatoo.
