Throw Open the Shutters!
Posted on May 24, 2008
Posted on May 24, 2008
Well, the air in here has grown stale. It is time we opened up the windows and let the room exhale its dusty atmosphere. I mean it is time I updated.
Readers, I\'m going to ask that you indulge me in something. It\'s true I\'m a snob; indeed, it is a mantle I\'m all too eager to bear. Since you read me with such interest, I may suppose you to be a snob too. Naturally, we\'re drawn to others who are like-mindedly, high-minded. We relish the artist\'s loud, but indifferent approach to social problems. We manage our manors and tax shelters while decrying the middle class\' lack of charity. And we allow a knowing smirk to the ivy-bred politicians sharing a barbeque and beer with "buddies" and peppering their speeches with words like "ordinary folks". The world is full of wonderful teachers if one can just lack the humility to learn from them.
Which brings me to my point. I would like to highlight some lessons from my most favorite elitist, Benjamin Franklin. Frankly (ha!), I must admit to you, I scarcely new him to be one of us before reading his biography. How glad I am not to miss out. Of greatest interest to me is his knack for forming exclusive societies.
"Exclusive societies? Well that\'s hardly new." Granted. I belong to sixteen myself. But what my memberships to the clubs of the groomed and gifted lack is Franklin\'s faux-bourgeois facade. His "Junto" also went by the name "leather apron\'s club" and consisted of a hand-picked selection of business associates that would prove to advance old Ben to the fore-front of a fledgling nation. Its emphasis on community development only enhanced the reputation of the club\'s founder more.
So I have emulated his example. I have chosen the sharpest and most able tadpoles, frogs, and other amphibious creatures as its members. I am telling this not because you are invited. Rather, so that when the world is changed by our lofty and clever endeavors, you will know who was responsible. Namely, me.
I\'ve nothing more for now. Take care friends.
-T
Readers, I\'m going to ask that you indulge me in something. It\'s true I\'m a snob; indeed, it is a mantle I\'m all too eager to bear. Since you read me with such interest, I may suppose you to be a snob too. Naturally, we\'re drawn to others who are like-mindedly, high-minded. We relish the artist\'s loud, but indifferent approach to social problems. We manage our manors and tax shelters while decrying the middle class\' lack of charity. And we allow a knowing smirk to the ivy-bred politicians sharing a barbeque and beer with "buddies" and peppering their speeches with words like "ordinary folks". The world is full of wonderful teachers if one can just lack the humility to learn from them.
Which brings me to my point. I would like to highlight some lessons from my most favorite elitist, Benjamin Franklin. Frankly (ha!), I must admit to you, I scarcely new him to be one of us before reading his biography. How glad I am not to miss out. Of greatest interest to me is his knack for forming exclusive societies.
"Exclusive societies? Well that\'s hardly new." Granted. I belong to sixteen myself. But what my memberships to the clubs of the groomed and gifted lack is Franklin\'s faux-bourgeois facade. His "Junto" also went by the name "leather apron\'s club" and consisted of a hand-picked selection of business associates that would prove to advance old Ben to the fore-front of a fledgling nation. Its emphasis on community development only enhanced the reputation of the club\'s founder more.
So I have emulated his example. I have chosen the sharpest and most able tadpoles, frogs, and other amphibious creatures as its members. I am telling this not because you are invited. Rather, so that when the world is changed by our lofty and clever endeavors, you will know who was responsible. Namely, me.
I\'ve nothing more for now. Take care friends.
-T