The people in question are akin to the i-Podders, shutting out the world around them. However, I'm NOT referring to the habit of ignoring others when in public which is a mainstay of any urban dweller's life. Researchers have said that city people have to ignore most of what goes on around them because otherwise their minds would become overloaded. So, we're not talking about that. [music list --> play 'the Passenger']
My main purpose is to discuss why Brits like to read so much when they could be doing something else valuable. We all know that reading enlivens the mind and particularly the imagination. This is something that tellie actually destroys. So, readers have a lively imagination and they enjoy feeding it. However, what about the benefits of being with and interacting with other people. [music list --> play 'I'm bored']
I have the feeling that they typically view others to some degree as a threat. Perhaps they'll be a threat to their safety, their equilibrium, or who knows. Nevertheless, they are most often not willing to chance it. I think that in this way they recede from life, from emotion, from passion.
You say 'emotion' or 'passion' and they think you're either a drunkard, a druggie, a sex fiend, a womaniser, or______[other perversion here].
[music list --> play 'standing in the way of control']Another reason why the Brits read is that they are rejecting the world of politics. They know what's right, and they know what's right is rarely what happens. I can see that they're so accustomed to their politicians being a pile of lying, self-serving bastards, that they just tune them out, lest they become homicidal with rage, which helps no one. This happens even though electing a major bastard like Bliar can do quite a bit of harm to the country and its image. It's hard to find someone here who is interested at all.
[music list --> play 'Dead man's party'']
