Live, Work, Study

It's so great to have a warm place to be on a cold night. It's wonderful to be able to do worthwhile things. My job is a delight. I LOVE my family. It's so great to have a clear mind and a strong body and, more than anything else, to be absolutely secure in the unconditional love of God, love I know about because of Jesus, love that I know is for everyone everywhere.

from Democracy In America Part 1, Chapter 13

Sure, I can still complain. I can say, like I did in my last post on this blog, that I don't have enough time to do everything I want to. I'm one of those who, as Alexis de Tocqueville observed, is "constrained to work in order to procure the means of physical subsistence." And even though I mostly enjoy my work, especially when my bus is full of people, those hours do keep me busy, and, when I get home, there are lots of practical chores to do, and different sorts of "good things" that it's "good to do" with and for my family and friends.

But tonight I do have some time -- and I'll use it for this. I'll use it to write a bit, since I've done so reading, or better said, "listening" to audio versions of books, in recent days. That possibility of listening as I do other things, instead of just needing to sit and read, it's so wonderful! It might even be a partial solution for busy people to become better informed member of society. I believe that's a part of our calling to love our neighbor as ourself.

It's possible to be listening to a variety of educational materials while we do chores, and while we commute to and from work, and at other times when our hands might be busy but our minds aren't. That's how I managed to continue with the "Political Theory" study. I "checked out" an audio book from the library and was able to listen to The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli- that didn't take too long. Now I'm about halfway through Part 1 of Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America. I found that book for free online -- both in virtual "print" and in an audio recording.

One of the things de Tocqueville lamented in his book was how few of the "common people" were well informed about what's going on in their country, even though they could, "strictly be said to govern in the United States." The people are supreme here, so it's sad when they often ignorant of anything other what their political party says, or what they read in the newspapers, or what their friends are saying.

In the 1830s, at the time when de Tocqueville was writing, very many of the people--at the time white men only--were involved in political decision making, at least at the local level. Most of those decisions, he said, were wisely made. However, when it came to situations beyond the areas where they lived, for example, things going on with the Federal Government, they were not well informed. The "common people's" work left little time for reading and writing and study.

This was a problem because it's the people, writes de Tocqueville, who "may strictly be said to govern in the United States." It's an evil thing, and a harmful thing, when such opinions, the people's votes, and the influence of the people's representatives, are driven along by "incessant agitation of parties" and whatever was printed in the newspapers. He was also aware of the simple power of crowds, noting the common observation that our "emotions in the midst of a sympathizing crowd are far greater than those which [we] would have felt in solitude." Ain't it the truth.

The same is true today, though now it's not just parties and newspapers that drive the people's thinking, and it's not just being physically present in crowds that amplifies our feelings. #socialmedia On the other hand, we do have a technological fix available to us. We can both work and study. We don't need to choose.

So it's good to spend time learning, as deeply as you can, so that your thinking can be clear. I wonder what would happen if people in general were to read more, and study more, instead of just being entertained, even by the news. Perhaps we could find solutions to some of our national and local issues, and stop shouting so much.

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