I should not talk so much about myself if there were anybody else whom I knew as well. Unfortunately, I am confined to this theme by the narrowness of my experience. Moreover, I, on my side, require of every writer, first or last, a simple and sincere account of his own life, and not merely what he has heard of other men's lives; some such account as he would send to his kindred from a distant land; for if he has lived sincerely, it must have been in a distant land to me.Man, that is beautiful. Obviously it's not that I don't interview folks--I think reporting is the essence of writing. But the writer should always be aware that he is the filter. First person has been given a bad name in journalism by a lot of people who just were bad writers--first person or not. Me, I'd like to see more of it. Nothing is more annoying than reading some story and seeing a journalist refer to herself as "the reporter" or "when a reporter asked..." It's like dude, we see you. You're right there.
« West, Malveaux and Smiley | Main | McCain VP Thread » Back to Thoreau29 Aug 2008 08:00 am
I've always struggled with the inherent solitude that comes with being a writer. Decided this was a good time to finish Walden. Was looking through this morning and came a line that defines my entire approach to journalism and to life. Dig this:
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Did you get the version of Walden that includes the essay On Civil Disobedience? If so, what's your take on that essay?
Don't think I did. My reading on the transcendentalists is not that good. I love "Self-Reliance" though. "Whoso would be a man, must be a noncomformist"
And
"These are the voices which we hear in solitude, but they grow faint and inaudible as we enter into the world. Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. Society is a joint-stock company, in which the members agree, for the better securing of his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its aversion. It loves not realities and creators, but names and customs. "
Yes, there's something of the libertarian in me.
That quote sounds to me very much like something Montaigne would have written (and I think did) in his essays. Not sure if Thoreau was a fan or if they independantly ended up at the same place.
There's a somewhat similar passage in Walden -- I don't have the book handy with me -- where Thoreau reflects on his neighbor the farmer, who works his butt off to be able to afford the rich foods that he needs to give him the fuel to work his butt off. Thoreau makes himself more self reliant by consuming less. In our vernacular, the farmer's on the treadmill, and Thoreau isn't.
Each of us is at the center of the story; it is our story. The difficulty is to understand that, accept that, and know when we see the world it is only through one set of eyes, and one consciousness. In that story is our existential loneliness: we are born alone, live alone, and die alone.
The awesome irony is that it is that stark loneliness which binds us to every other human being, across time, across cultures, across any barrier. It can be seen in our common dreams, our deepest fears, and our courage. A person who freely and fully takes responsibility for their actions has internalized and acts upon that knowledge.
In a very real way the two exemplars, the two ends of the spectrum of that knowledge, are Obama and McCain.
Adin
Oh, man, if you're brushing up your Thoreau be sure to read "Life Without Principle."
It'll remind you of the inanity of getting bogged down in the typical bloggy political-economic concerns when there are so many loftier cultural matters to write about (football posts included, of course).
You are brilliant, Ta-Nehisi, and I am so glad you're now a regular with The Atlantic. Since you don't know me, you obviously can't tell whether I am qualified to judge your relative brilliance, but I rarely comment due to lack of time. I just had to post a note today to let you know your blogging is a joy for me every day.
Yo, I'm with Denise. What other heads are blogging like you, man. I'm lovin this. I feel a kindred spirit on a blog for the first time ever. Keep it up, son.
My fav Thoreau quote:
Unjust laws exist: shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them at once?
Hell yeah.
Anyway, if you want some more of that 1st person writing check out a book called House of Rain by Craig Childs. It ain't about politics, but it's packed with information, and that perspective you're looking for.