Surprisingly, the book feels very modern. Contrary to what many people remember from it, the burning of books was not issued by a totalitarian government, but by people themselves.They just didn’t like being offended.
The artifitial chatter created by “walls” and “families” is very reminiscent about modern society. We dont like uncomfortable ideas as it seems and are offended A LOT. We should be offended more. And feel more. Its human and it’s a part of life.
The society in the book always chased happiness, which made them deeply unhappy. They started chasing self-destructive vices: driving with insane speeds, tv all the time, etc.
“Oh, God, the terrible tyranny of the majority”
Modern tendency to being outraged is actually one of the reasons, we have the „fake news problem” – check out “Confessions of a Media Manipulator”.
My highlights
- Federico Fellini who, when asked about his work, said, ‘Don’t tell me what I’m doing, I don’t want to know.’ The grand thing is to plunge ahead and
- Have you seen the two-hundred-foot-long billboards in the country beyond town? Did you know that once billboards were only twenty feet long? But cars started rushing by so quickly they had to stretch the advertising out so it would last.
- It didn’t come from the Government down. There was no dictum, no declaration, no censorship, to start with, no! Technology, mass exploitation, and minority pressure carried the trick, thank
- Who knows who might be the target of the well-read man? Me? I won’t stomach them for a minute. And so when houses were finally fireproofed
- You ask Why to a lot of things and you wind up very unhappy indeed, if you keep at it.
- you don’t want a house built, hide the nails and wood. If you don’t want a man unhappy politically, don’t give him two sides to a question to worry him; give him one. Better yet, give him none.
- Montag. Give the people contests they win by remembering the words to more popular songs or the names of state capitals or how much corn Iowa grew last year.
- Oh, God, the terrible tyranny of the majority.
