FEED by M.T. Anderson
First, in the deserts and veldts arose oral culture, the culture of the spoken word. Then in the cities with their temples and bazaars came the pictographs, and later, symbols that produced sounds as if by magic, and what followed was written culture. Then, in the universities and under the steeples of young nations, print culture. These -- oral culture, written culture, the culture of print -- these have always been considered the great epochs of man.
But we have entered a new age. We are a new people. It is now the age of oneiric culture, the culture of dreams.
And we are the nation of dreams. We are seers. We are wizards. We speak in visions. Our letters are like flocks of doves, released from under our hats. We have only to stretch out our hand and desire, and what we wish for settles like a kerchief in our palm. We are a race of sorcerers, enchanters. We are Atlantis. We are the wizard-isle of Mu.
What we wish for, is ours.
It is the age of oneiric culture. And we, America, we are the nation of dreams.
3 comments:
Okay, I THINK I get how your message is that we're this spoiled, selfish, over-indulged, instant-gratification culture, and yet, I kind of found the last couple paragraphs beautiful and poetic.
And to get all argumentative, it really only applies to places like the U.S. where everything here is so convenient.
Ugh, now I'm ruining the lovely vibe.....
Actually, I was being totally and completely sincere here. It was originally written by M.T. Anderson in his book "FEED," but the sentiment is genuine.
With the modern technological advancements like celular phones and wireless internet, we ARE wizards. With the press of a button, we make things appear. We can conjure objects out of thin air...
It's really a romanticized look at the culture we take for granted, I guess.
Well, gee, now I look like the cynical jerk I am! I should have accepted it at face value.
Sometimes I think about stuff like, what if i was catapulted back in time and I had a Bic lighter in my pocket. How would I use that in my new "environment" knowing it would be seen as a source of magic AND knowing it had a finite number of flicks left. Ever think of stuff like that?
*cough* Or maybe that's just me.
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