Terrific, as always. I knew about as much about Pliny as you wrote - Roman, man of distinction. Period. The novel sounds fascinating. Thanks for sharing.
And Margaret, thanks for your good question and insights. To answer directly, I was actually thinking about humanity in general when I wrote that sentence, i.e., that slavery and human torture as entertainment are no longer openly accepted as they were during the Roman Empire. To your point, we still turn our eyes away from countless forms of cruelty and human suffering. For example, human trafficking and forced labor are more likely to be hidden now. My guess is that most people in most places would say that these are horrible practices that should be stopped., Yet they persist, as do many other cruelties--war crimes, terrorism, mass starvation. So has humanity progressed or not? Maybe we're just more hypocritical. But I do remember Dan Yankelovich saying that what people give lip service to is important. He considered it a first step toward change. I wish we could talk to him about what's happening now.
When you write in your final paragraph that you can say without hesitation that we are not as heartless as the Romans, who do you mean – we Americans? It seems to me that supplying so many in the world with savage weaponry is quite heartless. I think because we are at least for the moment distant from the grandest suffering of so many, we do avert our eyes as much as possible. I for sure know that many of us want to help those who are suffering and starving, but it is truly difficult often to figure out how we best can do this, especially when our allies are bombing (with our artillery) those attempting to bring aid and care. I really value in your writing about “fiction” that you bring our attention to so many contemporary matters.
Terrific, as always. I knew about as much about Pliny as you wrote - Roman, man of distinction. Period. The novel sounds fascinating. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the like, Gabi.
And Margaret, thanks for your good question and insights. To answer directly, I was actually thinking about humanity in general when I wrote that sentence, i.e., that slavery and human torture as entertainment are no longer openly accepted as they were during the Roman Empire. To your point, we still turn our eyes away from countless forms of cruelty and human suffering. For example, human trafficking and forced labor are more likely to be hidden now. My guess is that most people in most places would say that these are horrible practices that should be stopped., Yet they persist, as do many other cruelties--war crimes, terrorism, mass starvation. So has humanity progressed or not? Maybe we're just more hypocritical. But I do remember Dan Yankelovich saying that what people give lip service to is important. He considered it a first step toward change. I wish we could talk to him about what's happening now.
When you write in your final paragraph that you can say without hesitation that we are not as heartless as the Romans, who do you mean – we Americans? It seems to me that supplying so many in the world with savage weaponry is quite heartless. I think because we are at least for the moment distant from the grandest suffering of so many, we do avert our eyes as much as possible. I for sure know that many of us want to help those who are suffering and starving, but it is truly difficult often to figure out how we best can do this, especially when our allies are bombing (with our artillery) those attempting to bring aid and care. I really value in your writing about “fiction” that you bring our attention to so many contemporary matters.