Bringing back the guillotine would certainly focus minds.”You’ve been found guilty of ecocide. Your sentence will be announced next week. Court dismissed”
“Not the guillotine in Canary Wharf plaza, please judge!”
Nicely done, Robin. It's hard to comment on historical patterns without sounding as if you want to bring back the tumbrils. But there is something in human nature that tends to excess - and some types of excess trigger others. Whether or not Marie Antoinette made her cake comment, it does speak to the dangerous gulfs that open up between human beings and across societies when there are social, political and economic disruptions. Which is part of the reason why I am going back to the writing of Doris Kearns Goodwin on leaders like Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt, to refresh my memory on how America got around some of these challenges last time.
This is so brilliantly written John. And I loved the flourish at the end. You've captured in a very few words what a lot of us are thinking. Thanks for not trying to 'make it all better', and nevertheless articulating all of this.
Bringing back the guillotine would certainly focus minds.”You’ve been found guilty of ecocide. Your sentence will be announced next week. Court dismissed”
“Not the guillotine in Canary Wharf plaza, please judge!”
Nicely done, Robin. It's hard to comment on historical patterns without sounding as if you want to bring back the tumbrils. But there is something in human nature that tends to excess - and some types of excess trigger others. Whether or not Marie Antoinette made her cake comment, it does speak to the dangerous gulfs that open up between human beings and across societies when there are social, political and economic disruptions. Which is part of the reason why I am going back to the writing of Doris Kearns Goodwin on leaders like Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt, to refresh my memory on how America got around some of these challenges last time.
This is so brilliantly written John. And I loved the flourish at the end. You've captured in a very few words what a lot of us are thinking. Thanks for not trying to 'make it all better', and nevertheless articulating all of this.