From John Ruskin (1819-1900, British romantic environmentalist):
Whereas the mediaeval never painted a cloud, but with the purpose of placing an angel in it; and a Greek never entered a wood without expecting to meet a god in it; we should think the appearance of an angel in the cloud wholly unnatural, and should be seriously surprised by meeting a god anywhere. Our chief ideas about the wood are connected with poaching. We have no belief that the clouds contain more than so many inches of rain or hail, and from our ponds and ditches expect nothing more divine than ducks and watercresses.I personally like his mourning about our loss of expectation. If nothing else I feel that this loss may be the greatest for humanity solely, as through an anthropogenic lens.
From Dan Savage (The Kid: What Happened After My Boyfriend and I Decided to Get Pregnant)
The same impulse that drives grown gay men to walk around holding hands could be pushing us toward this [adopting a child]. For same-sex couples, taking a lover's hand is almost never an unself-conscious choice. You have to think about where you are, whether you're safe, and you have to look. By the time you determine you're safe, you're not even sure you want to hold hands anymore. The genuine moment has passed, but you've invested so much energy and angst that now you can't not take your lover's hand. You wind up holding and the only reason you take your lover's hand is to prove that you can.Surely, this fascinates me because of my interest in psychology; I think he does a great job at explaining our relentless doubting/insecurity (whether this is socially or individually caused).
I just visited the US and picked up a few new books!
