What We Can And Cannot Do These Days

It's a bit unnerving to contemplate what we can and cannot do these days. In times past, it was common that a man be able to hunt, fish, farm, mould his own bullets, build a house and a barn, etc., smoke meat, raise livestock, kill another man with reasonable fortitude if his family were threatened, and read John Locke with decent patience.

In times not so distant (this from talking with older relatives) it was common that a man know how to build a house, run plumbing and electricity, take apart and fix his own engines, lay tile and cement, dig and sheathe a well, slaughter livestock and finish them into proper cuts and sausage, and exist quite happily without a television.

In our times, it is quite common that a man knows how to program his dvd player and Tivo player, hook up a home ethernet system, shop online for used XBox games, and competently use the various programs of Microsoft Office. Additionally, such a man can probably barbecue satisfactorily on a gas grill, run a power mower and a weed eater that plugs into a very long extension cord.