In Manifesto, Wendell Berry sends a message to return to a simpler, more consientious way of life. Modern life is described as a series of checkpoints and filled with instant gratification. "Not even your future will be a mystery anymore." Society has advanced so much that the mysteries of the future will be unraveled before they enven occur. Instead of a person, each individual is reduced to a credit card or bank account in order to buy the endless turnover of new things.
However, Berry does offer an alternative to this lifestyle. He says "So friends, every day do something that won't compute." Instead of following the trends and acting for our own interests, Berry says to love others, work hard for no money, honor ignorance, and most or all, be a steward of the land.
Berry's way of life he praises and describes is a backlash to the influx of technology in the past twenty years. Society has become so obsessed with technology and conveinance, that the simplicity and satisfaction of an honest life working the land has been forgotton by society. In fact, many farmers today are stereotyped as ignorant, when, in reality, those who work the land and appreciate it are wise far beyond being fluent in the latest technology. Berry sends a good, much needed message in Manifesto to forget progress and just live life with love, harmony, wonder, hope, and awe at the world around us.
No comments:
Post a Comment