Splash du Jour: Thursday

I have been reading a most fascinating book (shown here). It is Eric Hoffer's magnum opus, the 1951 classic work entitled The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements. It is a profound, (and I repeat) PROFOUND look into the mind of the fanatic. A penetrating study of how and why an individual becomes fanatical, ie., sold out to a cause or belief system. It is a look at the dynamics of mass movements at their most primal level. It is the first and most famous of his books and became a bestseller when President Eisenhower cited it during a press conference.
Hoffer is unique in many ways, not the least of which is his sort of self-taught eruditon and seemingly innate philosophical knowledge. He was born in New York City on July 25, 1902, to German immigrants. By age five, he was reading in both English and German. Struck by unexplained blindness at age seven, Eric regained his sight at 15. The experience of reading deprivation turned him into a nonstop, inveterate reader. He started working as a migrant in California (field-worker and gold prospector) at age 18 and spent most of his life as a dockworker, (stevedore) in San Fransisco, writing in his spare time--which won him the nickname of "the longshoreman philosopher."
This short, concise book is a gem, and naturally lends itself to the wielding up of witty, pithy, maxim-like quotations. Truly, I guess what I am doing here is highly recommending it to anyone interested in understanding the state of our present world. This book has no expiry date! Everything in The True Believer is, if not MORE relevant today than when it was first published, not one iota LESS.
"A man is likely to mind his own business when it is worth minding. When it is not, he takes his mind off his own meaningless affairs by minding other people’s business.
This minding of other people’s business expresses itself in gossip, snooping and meddling, and also in feverish interest in communal, national and racial affairs. In running away from ourselves we either fall on our neighbor’s shoulder or fly at his throat. "
-- Eric Hoffer, in The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements. 1951 --
Have a great Thursday!