ideas

"A book is the only place in which you can examine a fragile thought without breaking it, or explore an explosive idea without fear it will go off in your face. It is one of the few havens remaining where a man's mind can get both provocation and privacy." ~Edward P. Morgan

I love this quote. It validates my thoughts on writing, and on reading. The separation of author and speaker, of theme and subject, of belief and ideal.

Our world doesn't allow for enough time to think, let alone enough time to process thought. We try on identities in our modern world, we change our hair color, names, styles, jobs, spouses yet we seem intolerant of trying on beliefs or exploration of ideas. People who do are "flighty" or worse yet labeled hypocrites.

And the irony is that this world is constantly presenting so many fragile thoughts, so many explosive ideas. One doesn't even need to watch the news, read a paper, or even read a book to discover them. They're created by daily life. Or, maybe there's the irony. Maybe most of us follow along as a part of the mindless herd and avoid the explosive ideas, hence there's no need for time.

Maybe that's my problem. Or at least one of them.