February 21

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A relevant poem for today by John Donne:

No man is an island,

Entire of itself.

Each is a piece of the continent,

A part of the main.

If a clod be washed away by the sea,

Europe is the less.

As well as if a promontory were.

As well as if a manor of thine own

Or of thine friend's were.

Each man's death diminishes me,

For I am involved in mankind.

Therefore, send not to know

For whom the bell tolls,

It tolls for thee.

As I read David Kaiser's article yesterday I realized that a major difference between 1943 and today, as reflected in the respective newspapers, is that we are far more self-centered and narcissistic. The social attitude today goes beyond isolationism. We had isolationists then as well and I hope it doesn't take an attack on U.S. soil to bring our modern day isolationists around. Whether we like it or not we live in a globalized world, far more globalized than the Elizabethan world John Donne lived in. We no longer have any secure borders against unfriendly powers. We haven't yet realized that we have no secure borders against desperate masses fleeing violence and climate disasters.

I went to this article because of the title: An Act of Literary Vandalism. You have to skim down the page (unless you are interested in yet another take on Biden's trip to Kyiv). I had seen a couple of of extremely short pieces on this item. I have seen these kind of stories several times always very unsettled feelings. I remember an attempt to make Shakespeare "relevant" by updating the language. It left me cold. Updating the language neutered the art. At another time people banned Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer because Twain included the "n-word." It might hurt some readers feelings. But how much do we all lose when our classics are butchered to soothe tender feelings? Or to ensure corporate profits?