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# 2017-01-02 - Go East Young Man by William O. Douglas
William O. Douglas writing
In his autobiography, William O. Douglas wrote about having polio as
a kid. His doctors predicted he would never walk again. Through the
faith and love of his mother, her daily massages, his own
determination, and his love of the great outdoors, he regained the
full use of his legs. He is known for the argument that a tree can
be a plaintiff in court [1]. Below is a relevant paragraph from The
Oregonian [2]:
> Imagine a current member of the U.S. Supreme Court proposing that
> an old tree should have the right to sue to block a timber sale.
> ... Once, such a justice existed, and his name was William O.
> Douglas. He served on the Supreme Court from 1939 to 1975 and
> easily earned the distinction as the greenest justice in American
> history. He also hailed from the Pacific Northwest.
My 2008 book review follows:
> On one leg of this junket, Moore and I were somewhere in Maine
> riding a caboose, the only way to reach a remote cement plant. It
> was a warm spring day and Moore sat by an open window. The benches
> in the caboose, as usual, ran along each side of the car. Moore
> sat with one leg under him and The New York Times held by his two
> hands in front of him. He was absorbed in reading when the
> brakeman, sitting opposite, let go a wad of tobacco juice that
> passed between Moore's face and the newspaper and went smack out
> the window. Moore ruffled his paper and muttered something
> inaudible and returned to his reading. In a few moments the
> brakeman let go another wad of tobacco juice, and it also passed
> between Moore's face and the paper, neatly clearing the open
> window. Moore, flushed with anger, turned to the brakeman and
> shouted, "What goes on here?" The brakeman rose to his feet,
> cleared his throat, and said, "I'm sorry, sir, if I upset you. But
> I think you must admit it was some spitting." I could no longer
> contain myself and broke into loud laughter, to which first the
> brakeman and then Moore succumbed.
The author describes how his bout with polio left him with weak legs.
As a form of therapy he spent much time hiking. The best parts of
this book come in the first half where he describes the outdoors in
Washington.
Through his agricultural work and hopping freight trains, he met
hobos and wobblies. He was sympathetic toward them because they were
comparatively generous and decent human beings.
He worked while putting himself through college and law school and
sent money home.
What I found most interesting about his history with the SEC was his
transformation from cynicism to optimism about government. He did
not like Washington but he went there to fix some of the problems he
experienced in his youth. In the beginning of chapter 26 he states
that it was during his work at the SEC that he grew to regard the
majority of representatives and senators as worthy public servants.
In several parts of the book he references regressions in the
political scene, yet he became increasingly hopeful.
The theme of automation also fascinated me: the potential for
machines to eliminate labor. I've seen its like before in the
Jetson's: a utopian future where robots do all the work and people
have 100% leisure. He seemed to view labor as some sort of day care
for adults. In chapter 21 he states "An automated society could give
to those who had hobbies endless hours of joy. ... But how about the
men and boys I knew who frequented the pool halls and beer joints in
Yakima?" And in chapter 25, "The computer world would have depressed
Brandeis. ... Man becomes transformed when a machine separates him
from his fellow-man."
As a side note, I noticed that FDR made an analogy in his Quarantine
Speech delivered in Chicago on October 5, 1937, that compared human
beings to disease organisms [3]. This speech was given to rebut
isolationism. I found it ironic, considering that our enemies of
that day also gave speeches that used analogies to disease. Though
to be fair, FDR was advocating a quarantine, not an amputation.
[1]
William O. Douglas, see section Trees have standing
[2] Oregonian article
Oregonian article about William O. Douglas
[3] FDR "Quarantine speech"
FDR "Quarantine speech" transcript
author: Douglas, William O. (William Orville), 1898-1980
detail: gopher://gopherpedia.com/0/Go_East,_Young_Man
ISBN: 0394488342
tags: biography,book,history,non-fiction,outdoor,political,vagabond
title: Go East,Young Man
# Tags
biography
book
history
non-fiction
outdoor
political
vagabond
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