As said in
class today, history seems to have taken a downward slope. Whereas man used
live in a time of demigods and epic journeys, decade long battles filled with
the intimate art of hand to hand combat and the glory or shame that followed,
today’s man seems to be but a shadow of himself. The Odyssey is set towards the end of the Greeks
“Golden Age”, and even within the epic itself, Homer notes the decline from the
awe-inspiring demigods to the current warriors that occurred between three or
four generations. The Ancient Greeks were a people of honor; it meant everything
to them. In a world where swords and shield are just meant for museums and wall
hangings, a world with a societal mindset of “everyman for himself”, what does
that say about the modern man? Forget the “Age of Tinfoil” that Dr. Mashburn
joked at today; we live in an age of plastic wrap.
p.s- Commented on Rebekah Dye’s post “Penelope’s faithfulness”
"The age of plastic wrap." Ha! That made me laugh.
ReplyDeleteFor us, we don't even have to look as far back as the Greeks. Just look at the colonial era of our own country. Or read Alex and Brett Harris' Do Hard Things. All we do is easy things.
Playing Rock Band 'til midnight is easy. Cramming for a test the hour before is easy. Consistent moral excellence and self-discipline of mind, body and spirit is hard. In those ways, we have fallen far.
At the same time, we would do well to remember the words of Solomon. "Say not, 'Why were the former days better than these?' For it is not from wisdom that you ask this." Even though we live in the age of plastic wrap, we don't have to be plastic ourselves. We can be gold.
"An age of plastic wrap." I love that!
ReplyDeleteNot only do we live in an age of plastic wrap, but we live in an age where the written word is not as important as the screen. Computers, iPads, iPods, Smart Phones, and many other electronic objects rule our day to day lives. If something were to knock out everything electronic, we wouldn't know what to do. I believe, that the Greeks had the right idea, it is better to look back to the past, not only to see the mistakes made before us, but also to see the simplicity in the way people lived. I respect the hard work and diligence people put into everything in years past. (Though I personally don't want to give up my electronics!)
ReplyDeleteThis really is a sad truth about where today's society is heading. If we think about all of today's electronics and forms of entertainment, all of it really is a cop out from having to do anything. When we watch TV and movies, we don't do any work or solve any problems. We don't have to comprehend anything or work to understand anything, we simply absorb.
ReplyDelete