Thursday we talked about energy transformation and how it relates to our current readings. Two days before, I participated in the campus walk-out.
In The Human Motor, we learn about idleness and how the definition changed over time. In A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, we see Hank Morgan, who comes from an era where idleness is not praised, live in an era where the King and knights live and wander aimlessly. They have no future goal to work towards and seem to live their life day-by-day, playing games and telling outlandish stories. In the 19th century, technological innovation was thriving and progressing quickly. Even now, productivity and hard work are rewarded and idleness is looked down upon. One example of energy transformation in Twain’s novel is when Hank puts advertising sandwich boards on the knights. Hank saw the knights as lazy and jobless, and used them to promote soap. His soap advertising was a modern concept that he viewed as a step towards civilization. Hank used the energy the knights had, to educate the public; in this case, about soap and its importance.
I see energy conversion in the present time period also; from the Women’s March last month, to the walk-out we had on campus three days ago. The objectives of these protests are to convert the energy of the activists and momentum of these acts into social and political change. We disrupt daily routine to send the message of solidarity and the necessity for change. The Bucknell community came together to show that we would not be idle and passive; we would not continue on in life and pretend nothing happened. The similarity between the knights and the walk-out activists, is that we both used the energy of society to promote change. The difference is that the knights did it because someone of a higher rank, Hank, told them to, and we did it because we don’t agree with the current state of our country and our country leaders. I am proud to be part of a community that does not accept fate blindly, that does not settle for anything less than the acceptance of everyone, and that comes together in solidarity.