“Or we'll walk on the highways now, and we'll have time to put things into ourselves. And some day, after it sets in us a long time, it'll come out of our hands and our mouths. And a lot of it will be wrong, but just enough of it will be right. We'll just start walking today and see the world and the way the world walks around and talks, the way it really looks. I want to see everything now. And while none of it will be me when it goes in, after a while it'll all gather together inside and it'll be me.”
Excerpt From
Fahrenheit 451
Ray Bradbury
Read Fahrenheit 451 for February. (Technically, I haven’t finished my January book yet, but there’s time for that later) I expected the book to be more difficult to read, more drudging and heavy; similar to the struggle I went through with 1984. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the easily flowing prose. It’s entirely possible that the quality of the read had less to do with the authors and more to do with my disposition at the time of reading, but nontheless, the fact remains that I had a much easier time digesting this book than similar classics in the past.
It seems like the right time to read this book too, and experience its themes: highlighting the loss of critical thinking, introspection, softness, and presence; the annhilation of ones attention span and focus hits close to home. Dopamine addiction from screens, and the villianisation of points of views which differs from the majority.
Discomfort forces upon us empathy. A life where we never experience it, is shallow and flat. Stop rushing. Take your time.
Slowing down isn’t a crime. Knowledge isn’t a crime. Controlling the masses to reduce dissent, removing free will, eliminating sorrow; all of these things make humans humane. Without the negatives, we will fail to recognise the positive emotions. Without the darkness, the light has no meaning. It is in darkness that we learn to appreciate light.
