This morning, a friend recommended the book "Churchill and Orwell", a comparison of Britain's WWII leader with the author of "1984". I don't know much about the actual personality and life experience of either man, but I am interested. I downloaded the book.
This noon, Dr. Temple Grandin, arguably the world's best known autistic person, spoke on campus. The little I know about Churchill, mostly as played by John Lithgow on "The Crown", and the way Grandin acted makes me wonder if a somewhat grouchy attitude is sometimes protective of the grouch. Especially as we age, things change and they aren't the way they used to be, as far as we can remember. Elders often feel that things are going downhill, that there is diaster ahead, and it is a shame that people don't behave as they used to.
At the same time, Americans and other modern people call for improvements. We want better government, better infrastructure, lower taxes, faster transport, cleaner air, less calories and greater satisfaction. Can we improve while simultaneously keeping things unchanged and familiar and steady?
One of the things Grandin mentioned was brain processing speed. Lynn just asked me what is the name of the service we use to book hotel rooms. We both expected the name to come to mind and it did. Older people are familiar with knowing something, and knowing that one knows while being unable to move the item from the tip of the tongue to actually remembering it. Memory processing speed, contemplation of alternative choices, reconsideration of issues in different moods to test ideas against multiple backgrounds - all mental process can take time. Older brains may be slower but wiser brains may require broader consideration and more comparison and weighing.
Sometimes these days, America is said to be living through a struggle for "eyeballs". Not for some sort of zombie deviltry but for attention. Even the rocking chair set is urged to get out and move! Join us in this effort! Let's change the world for the better! Look this way! Pay attention! Over here! Look at me, Mommy!
