Progress

The following is an exchange between Rose Marie Berger, an associate editor for Sojourners Magazine, and Wendell Berry, which appeared in the July 2004 edition. The full interview can be found here.

"BERGER: How is that myth of progress operating on us as people, and what are the reasons for calling it into question, or subverting it?

BERRY: Well, that's two questions, isn't it? How does it operate on us? It substitutes this infinite advance toward better and better life in the material sense for the old pilgrimage, which you make by effort and grace, to become a better person. And I guess that's the reason you need to subvert it if you can. It takes people's minds off the important things. It becomes, at it's worst, a kind of determinism: All we have to do is just passively go along and things will get better and better, and we'll be happier and happier. That's why we need honest accounting."

This myth of progress is constantly on my mind of late - actually, probably longer than "of late"; it's more like the last two years. I'm not sure what I've actually done about it. Have I simplified my life? In some ways, yes. But that may be as a result of not having much money, as opposed to a conscious choice.

Today's weight: Presently Unknown | Today's workout: Heading to the Y in about an hour