The Marching Morons

[likethebeer]

C.M. Kornbluth's story, "The Marching Morons" involves a man from the 20th Century who wakes up in a future in which the average I.Q. has been lowered to the level of moron (I don't think calling someone whose I.Q. is below 70 a "moron" is allowed any longer, although it used to actually be used).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Marching_Morons (<--spoiler alert)

Here it is reprinted on-line:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/23657356/The-Marching-Morons

Comments

Re: intelligent people w/intelligent people

[immemor.livejournal.com]

The flammable water thing stopped in 1969. But we still make jokes about it. No one else is allowed to make jokes about it. Just us. But if you come here we will all offer you a Burning River Beer. So go figure.

It will be baseball’s opening day soon. Or, as we call it here: the long, slow descent from hope to reality. Now I want to go to a Phillies game. (2 dimes and a nickel – haha!)

I understand, you were too busy getting advance degrees in awesome.

Re: intelligent people w/intelligent people

[likethebeer.livejournal.com]

I think you should totally be the folks who are allowed to make jokes about a burning river. And I think it's fabulous that you have Burning River Beer. Someone should be able to make money off a burning river. They could make a long fruit chew that has like a redhot flavor, and call it Burning River Chew, but that's not as important as beer.

When we were kids, dad would take us to the ballgames into the nosebleed sections & it cost like $5 per person. When we went to see the Phillies in 2011 it cost my dad, like, $75/person. But he really really wanted to take his grandkids to see the Phillies - the kids are growing up outside San Francisco but they love the idea of family in Philly so they like the baseball team, even though they've got no real interest in the sport (although I think my nephew is in little league).

I should put up that advanced degree - it's squished on a bookshelf somewhere. Would make me "hmmm" & "hawww" less.

Re: intelligent people w/intelligent people

[immemor.livejournal.com]

Everything here is called Burning River now. Even our Roller Derby Girls are called Burning River Roller Derby.

$75 – that’s one more reason to give up sports entirely. Few kids are into baseball anymore. The kids and baseball thing is now a myth perpetuated by Woody Allen movies. Star Wars was our baseball.

Frame it, hang it on the wall and let it shine. Oh yeah, let it shine.

Re: Burning River

[likethebeer.livejournal.com]

The Roller Derby Girls taking on that name makes the most amount of sense.

Yeah, the thing with baseball is how far the professional teams are to kids (well, & for every other sport). I think that's one of the reasons why my dad gets so flummoxed that his grandkids don't adore it. He grew up in the 1940s & '50s when it was one of the most solid forms of entertainment & there were stickball games all over the place, all the time.

Makes AAA teams that much more appealing.

Re: Burning River

[immemor.livejournal.com]

The thing that really bothers me is cheering for someone who doesn’t cheer for me. That guy who is in town just for the paycheck and doesn’t care if our school system is good, doesn’t care if funds are being diverted from more important infrastructure issues to pay for that white elephant of a stadium where he goes to play – he annoys me. And sports seem saturated with these self-involved people. Not everyone in sports is like that, of course, but they seem to be the majority and I don’t want to waste my time or $75 to separate them.

All that said, the Steelers still suck.

Re: Burning River

[likethebeer.livejournal.com]

That's what everyone has a problem with but we've all seen that the seats still fill & they still make money. Totally makes monetary sense.

Still, talking about baseball makes me want to bug my friends ND & MD to watch Bull Durham. MD was the one who explained the importance of watching a movie about spring training & a summer sport (and a small, local team) at this time of the year.

And, oh god, yeah the Steeler's suck.

Re: Burning River

[immemor.livejournal.com]

I’m happy that I’m not into it. I could read 80 pages of a masterpiece in the time it takes me to watch some boring old game.

Candlesticks always make a nice gift…

You know it. [high five!]

Re: Burning River

[likethebeer.livejournal.com]

And roosters... got to get a rooster.

I did write to my friend, MD, and ask her if she, her son & husband would let me over to watch Bull Durham and she sort of replied, "Hell yes - I need that." Now we've got to figure out a time. She also introduced me to "Fishing with John" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fishing_with_John) and there are some episodes of that in Thailand that make you think of warmth; but I think we need something that captures us unhindered for 2 hours.