Contemplation – written before the US-British onslaught of Iraq.

As the world stands on the brink of a holocaust, I have been pondering the reasons for its state today. If we had indeed progressed so much, why do we live in greater “fear and trembling”? (Kierkegaard)
In today’s rush-rush world, people do not find time to reflect or contemplate. The world is hurtling forth at such a frightening speed towards self-destruction and damnation. If a goat keeps grazing and doesn’t stop once in a while to take stock of its position it might just fall off the cliff. It’s the same with mankind today. We are in such a hurry but we do not know where we are going and do not bother to stop and think for a moment.
People today do not read very much. They do not have time to patiently read through what the great philosophers and thinkers of the past have to say about human nature, about the human condition, about the universe, and about a lot of other basic tenets of existence. We are so used to getting everything instantly, at the touch of a button, that we are loathe to use a little time to read. We have often heard of people moaning that life is so boring. If we only patronise shopping complexes, this dilemma isn’t surprising.
I have been reading The Great Conversation: A Reader’s Guide to Great Books of the Western World, 1952. These great books on western intellectual history were published by Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc. The committee of consultants comprises such learned personalities as Isaac Asimov, the science writer and author of science fiction; Octavio Paz, Mexican poet,writer and diplomat; William F.Buckley Jr., editor and author; Hajime Nakamura, Emeritus Professor of Indian and Buddhist Philosophy at the University of Tokyo; Dame Leonie Judith Kramer, Emeritus Professor of Australian Literature at the University of Sydney; and 6 other professors, including several emeritus professors as well as 5 other very outstanding and high-achieving individuals.
The collection of 60 volumes starts with Homer in Volume 1. The early period covers works of great Greek thinkers, philosophers, poets, writers, historians and scientists such as Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Herodotus, Thucydides, Plato, Aristotle, Hippocrates, and Archimedes as well as a host of German, Italian, French, Spanish, Russian, American and English ones.
The subjects of discussion range from philosophy to politics, economics, history, psychology, mathematics and science to literature, astronomy, sociology and anthropology. The collection covers works of more than 25 centuries, 517 original works of 130 writers in all. Despite covering such a wide spectrum of western thinking, the collection is not exhaustive.
Reading these original works is no piece of cake and it’s not surprising that only an enlightened few would take the trouble to read the secrets of the ancients. This brings us to the question of the human condition today and why true knowledge as encapsulated in these books could be our saviour. I would recommend these great books to President George Bush as it had been predicted as early as 1952 by the editor of The Great Conversation that the United States might blunder into war. This possibility seems so real today.
The United States has become the most powerful nation in the world today but it does not have a long history. Therefore, it lacks centuries of learning how to discharge the responsibilities of its position. A country that is militarily powerful but is inexperienced and uneducated can be a great danger to world peace. The U.S. is not likely to endanger world peace through malevolence. However, they may make military moves in the mistaken conviction that such moves are necessary for the defense of the U.S. Perhaps President Bush should read The Charge of the Light Brigade, a poem by Tennyson, about a military blunder that cost the lives of many English soldiers.
This set of great books is organized on the principle of achieving clarification or understanding of the most important issues, as stated by the great western writers, through continuous discussion. The principle of democracy should be EDUCATION – REAL LEARNING which is, going back to the basics. The strength of a people comes not only from masses of men and machines but from trained intelligence and an understanding of its ideals that they become a part of the thought and life of every citizen.
These great works in the 60 volumes are the “products of the most elegant literary style”. Like literary books, they have beginnings, middles and ends that move from familiar situations through complications to reveal familiar mysteries. As the “minds of men are full of shadows and reflections of things they cannot grasp”, these books are necessary to this present generation which Herman Hesse uncomplimentarily referred to as “the Age of Digest”. The computer enhances this digest syndrome as it provides instant gratification.
The Great Discussion, the tradition of the west, encourages the spirit of enquiry. Great books are central in a liberal education but a liberal education used to be confined only to an elite. Only those with exceptional intelligence and leisure could understand these books and only those who had political power needed to understand them. But today people have political power and leisure. If they had not used them wisely, it may be because they have not had the kind of education that would enable them to do so. It is indeed sad that the great writings of the ancients had been largely ignored because reading those takes a lot of time and effort. People would rather go to the internet for a quick fix or sit through some shallow entertainment on TV than to pore painstakingly over some heavy literature.
Finally, it is hoped that with the English Language’s return to grace in this country, the next generation or the one to follow will be able to delve into the mysteries of these great books, hopefully before some “uneducated” president triggers off the onset of the end of mankind. It is to be recommended that American voters vote in a well-educated president who is steeped in the classics because it is in them that we find truth and wisdom. Two such examples are the Bible and the Quran. These are books of real knowledge. If people would go back to study the basic tenets of life and existence, we wouldn’t be standing on the threshold of fearful uncertainties.