Sunday, October 21, 2007

My Ebenezer

I have a Robert Robinson song stuck in my head. It's been a good comfort today. Guess what it is for an unspecial prize of some abstract poetry.

Today was busy, and long. I had a computer based English test I had to set up for this morning, and then administer this afternoon, projectors people needed, we had some fairly important visitors that I had to set up some gear for, and generally clean for. Oh, and report cards had to go out today, and I hate the software Rube-Goldberg-esque system that we use to do it. That was a little bit of a frustrating day.

But between the song and just knowing it was going to be a long day, it wasn't bad.

To fill the four or so hours of time that I had today while monitoring the test, I borrowed Atlas Shrugged from the school library. It's a really interesting book, one of the things I notice is that there really aren't heroes, just protagonists. It's very much a political screed, and I'm not sure I'm going to finish it. I'm at page 350 of 1050 or so... But it reminds me as I read the emptiness of the ideals promoted by both sides in the book. The collectivist is bankrupted by the very human nature that he proclaims as the framework of his society. The 'objectivist' or individualist, or Randian protagonist is bankrupted by the fact that he ultimately has no reason other than to work. Atlas Shrugged seems to be the book before the Song of Songs, writ large. I never want to be either of those men. I reject both philosophies.

Here's my heart, O take and seal it
Seal it for thy courts above.

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