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Friday 12 January 2018

A Change of Mind

   It has been an idea of mine that perhaps some of the phrases used in ‘A Change of Mind, such as ‘He who plough’s a straight furrow need hoe for nothing,’ and ‘the slowest mule is nearest the whip’ might have come from Chairman Mao Tse-tung’s little red book. However, and despite my search on-line, I’ve not been able to really test my theory properly. Then this Christmas I was given a copy of Mao Tse-tung’s little red book. What really set this idea in my mind is the scene in the woods where a meeting of the Social Group was taking place. Two young men were debating Number 42 who had apparently ignored Number 10’s greeting, her excuse being she was composing poetry at the time. A young oriental gentleman, presumably Chinese said “There can be no mitigation, we all have a social obligation to stand together, neglect of social principle.” That oriental gentleman speaks like a Maoist.  I have always been of that opinion, and it was that which led me to Mao Tse-Tung’s little red book. As I read that Mao wrote of the people standing together. Lucky for me the copy of the book I have does have English translations.
   Number 6 once asked the question “Which is which, how many of each, who’s standing beside you now? I intend to discover them, who are the prisoners and who the warders?” Also In an article in The Tally Ho about an increased call in vigilance by Number 2 it states “We must be on our guard against enemies in our midst,” We do not necessarily know who our enemies are, or who they may be.” Mao in his book asks the questions “Who are our enemies? Who are our friends?” Although it is not an exact analogy between the two, I find it interesting enough that Chairman Number 2 has a compunction to use quotations as Chairman Mao Tse-Tung had done. Mao also wrote of a “Democratic dictatorship,” democracy is an irritation The Village administration has done away with. And yet there are, as Number 2 said, democratic in some ways. Perhaps The Village reached a status of being a democratic dictatorship!


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