George Orwell’s 1945 book, Animal Farm, is a chilling tale of animals that take over a farm, led by the pigs. In time, the cooperative slogans that united the animals, shift to favor the pigs. Ultimately the worker animals are as badly abused as when the farm was run by humans.
The powerful work to maintain their power. No news there, then or now.
(From time to time, YIR plans to re-post some posts for those who did not memorize them the first time.)
Opinions are grand and glorious things, best enjoyed in the moment of their expression. Rhinos find them very Satisfying, and are chock full of them, Opinions that is. We toss them around like Critters Possessed.
But in our Experience, Opinions do not weather every test, certainly any administered by Nature. Change is Nature’s pivotal Policy.
Let the Blowhard Beware.
M. Michel de Montaigne, b. 1533, is known for having “invented” the Essay, around 1571. Essays were his attempts to combine his own observations and philosophy, offering his readers an opportunity to mull over issues that interested him.
He lived in France, and spent the second half of his life in seclusion, writing and writing. Rhinos are sympathetic, though living in the Wild precludes absolute solo efforts. Still, the state of mind is familiar to Us.
Said M. de Montaigne: “We can be knowledgeable with other men’s knowledge but we cannot be wise with other men’s wisdom.”
Given that Rhinos own nothing, plain or fancy, you may think We don’t give Style a second thought. You would be mistaken. We sometimes imagine ourselves in Exceptional Runway Situations.
Why not? We put in a lot of chewing time, and contemplating ourselves all fancy-pantsed is fun. It lightens our Philosophic Load, which is considerable.
The Real Error would be if We imagined making such an Impression meant anything worth knowing about.
IF We are to believe that changing our Present will change our Future, then might We not also select an altered Past, thus altering both our Present and our Future?
And may Fiction of any kind alter our view, thus rearranging all our interpretations and perceptions?
The same might be said of Facts, but Rhinos have doubts about Facts, one way and another.
We at Your Inner Rhino want to remind our revered Readers that Today is Yesterday’s Tomorrow. Conversely, it should be recalled that Yesterday is only a Day Away, too. Tomorrow likewise.
‘Little Orphan Annie’ was a comic strip by Harold Gray, begun in 1924. Spunky kid.
The Rhino Evaluation of most days is: So Far, So Good.
And even if the day is not ideal, what is to be done about it? We persevere.
On another note, We recommend the paintings of Tarsila do Amaral (1886-1973), a Brazilian artist of distinction. Even if Rhinos don’t live in South America at the moment, We may end up there yet. That sounds like a “So Good” to Us.
Rhinos know stuff about bugs. They buzz around, eat something or other, make baby bugs, and then die. Their lives are short. We know what they do. What We don’t know much about is how they feel about it, what they think about as they tend to their business.
Actually, We can’t honestly say We know what other Rhinos are contemplating from hour to hour. And truth to tell, We are often vague about whatever We ourselves are up to. Right?
We generally have lot more evidence for the Whats than We have for Whys.
Rhinos try to observe the niceties of Social Interaction wherever possible. On the field, at the waterhole, We play by the Rules.
One such rule is: No Rhino ever interrupts a Compliment. It simply isn’t done.
In the midst of our busy lives, We Rhinos like to toss in interludes, periods of mind-clearing non-activity. We breathe.
Still Life with Rhino.
Your Inner Rhino 