My ideal reader

It took quite a bit of thought to come up with my ideal reader for this blog. I’d love to connect with people who are passionate about great music, who are well read in a variety of genres, who think deeply about all they do and consider the ramifications of their actions, who can see through the illusions that so many are held captive by, who believe that we must get our destructive tendencies as a species under control or risk the destruction of the biosphere, who believe in that quaint document that stated that “All men are created equal” and know that this means all races, all ethnic groups, religions and yes, women too, who understand, as a fact and not as a metaphor, that ‘injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” who know that the history they read is designed to maintain the power structure and that laws are passed for the same purpose.

My ideal reader recognizes that if someone needs to know who did it before he or she can determine if it’s right or wrong, then this is unprincipled and recognizes we are surrounded by unprincipled hypocrites. My reader has compassion and understands that humans are part of a deep mystery and interconnected with all living and non-living things and is willing to accept that there are no answers to some questions rather than falling into the many traps that offer simplistic solutions to unsolvable problems.

I’d like to find readers who don’t confuse what they like for what is great because they have high standards that are continually tested. They would be as vigorous at testing the ideas they agree with as those they don’t. They would know that people who hold strong opinions are not often swayed by contrary facts but can actually dig in deeper. My readers would make every effort to overcome this. They would understand that the ‘wise man learns from the mistakes of others’ and would not wait until their own ‘ox was gored’ before seeing the truth that is all around them but invisible because it wasn’t their ox.

My ideal reader is one who sees that modern society has become a death cult and will want to explore how this came about and ponder the likely outcome of this if we don’t do something about it.

My ideal reader loves books and ideas and knows that Moby Dick by Melville is hilarious, that Blindness by Saramago is a metaphor for our times and that Modiano keeps writing the same deeply moving story, that George Eliot’s mind leaves us awestruck, that Loren Eisley and Stephen J. Gould are indispensable to our understanding of life and the human condition. My reader is on a never-ending quest for truth.

If you are still reading, you might be my ideal reader. To anyone still here, I thank you for putting with my rant.

I seem to have neglected to mention the small need for a love of music. That this species deserves to remain on this beautiful planet seems doubtful until you listen to Bach who must be the number one argument for our continued existence as a species. No one has so clearly set the standard and shown what is possible for the human mind to produce. Sometimes the awareness of how we have fallen far short is almost too painful to bear.

The focus of this blog has changed somewhat because of my trip to Southern Africa. Priorities have shifted. Music always matters but life in its myriad of expressions is insistent and I hope through this blog to pay tribute to it.