“I thought I understood his kind: the petty bureaucrats of tyranny, men who relish the carefully measured meed of power permitted to them, who need to walk in the aura of manufactured fear, to know that the fear precedes them as they enter a room and will linger like a smell after they have left, but who have neither the sadism nor the courage for the ultimate cruelty. But they need their part of the action. It isn’t sufficient for them, as it is for most of us, to stand a little way off to watch the crosses on the hill.” The above statement is made by Dr. Theo Faron, the main character in PD James' 1992 dystopian novel The Children Of Men. In it, the human race is dying out slowly as, for reasons which desperate scientists can't explain, about thirty years previously men's sperm count was reduced to zero and no babies have been born since that time. The novel is set in England which is no longer a constitutional monarchy; the winner of the last election held appointed himself "Warden of England" and has held that position for over 15 years. Most people have become too apathetic or nihilistic- or old- to care, but Theo becomes reluctantly involved with a resistance group pushing back against this undemocratic governance. At one point in the book, two members of the State Security Police arrive at Theo's door. The senior officer- Rawlings- shows him a pamphlet put out by the group of dissidents, The Five Fishes. He asks Theo if he's ever seen it before and Theo says yes, one was pushed through the mail slot in his door a few weeks previously. Rawlings asks him what he did with it and Theo says he threw it out with the rest of the junk mail. Rawlings says: "You admit that you had one of these pamphlets in your possession, sir, but you did nothing about it? You didn't feel that it was your duty to report?" The rest of the interview continues in this vein and, after the Police leave, Theo makes the above character assessment of Rawlings: the man is a mid-level bureaucrat type. He lacks the courage- or whatever it is- to take responsibility for the large tyrannies imposed by an unaccountable government. He relishes, however, inflicting petty tyrannies carried out in the name of that government, using the general public's fear of the State to intimidate them. Theo then invokes Christian imagery, specifically the crucifixion of Jesus. There were those present who actually were responsible for and carried out the execution, there were those who simply stood by, watching the crosses be raised. And then there were those who- like Rawlings- wanted to have some part, however minor, in the cruel action even if just shouting abuse or mockery at the dying man.
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“I thought I understood his kind: the petty bureaucrats of tyranny, men who relish the carefully measured meed of power permitted to them, who need to walk in the aura of manufactured fear, to know that the fear precedes them as they enter a room and will linger like a smell after they have left, but who have neither the sadism nor the courage for the ultimate cruelty. But they need their part of the action. It isn’t sufficient for them, as it is for most of us, to stand a little way off to watch the crosses on the hill.” Related Posts:After emulating the proverbial grasshopper for most of the summer, I'm now following the example of the ant and getting to work on some neglected projects. I've got a pair of socks on the go: "Knitting is clothing made in spare moments, or round the fire, whenever women gathered together... It's something to celebrate-clothes made in love and service, something women have always done.” ― Anne Bartlett, Knitting I'm also working on a table runner and placemats... I have the top of one of the placemats done: I still have to sandwich, quilt, and bind it, as well as sew the runner and other placemats but hey, it's a start. My sister was also doing some sewing- making Roman Shades- and thought her kids would be getting into it. As it turns out... Related Posts:The clip below is from the 1953 movie Stalag 17, which is about a group of American POWs held in that German prison camp during World War II. The film is a strange mixture of drama and comedy which- even more strangely- works. It is a Billy Wilder movie, and was adapted from a stage play by Donald Bevan and Edmund Trzcinski, who based it on their own experiences as prisoners of war in Austria, at the actual Stalag 17B camp. In the scene below, the Germans have issued copies of Mein Kampf to the prisoners, with the order that they are to be indoctrinated with the teachings of the Fuhrer. The men decide to give an exhibition of just how well they've absorbed Hitler's words:
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