In Passing
Brilliant Thoughts by Ashleigh Brilliant
Donald Lee Margerum
Born London, 1933. Mother Canadian. Father a British civil servant. World War II childhood spent mostly in Toronto and Washington, D.C. Berkeley PhD. in American History, 1964. Living in Santa Barbara since 1973. No children. Best-known for his illustrated epigrams, called “Pot-Shots”, now a series of 10,000. Email ashleigh@west.net or visit www.ashleighbrilliant.com
Thought Crime and Hate Crime
I
n 1949, the British writer, George Orwell, published a novel titled 1984 – the name of a year which was then as far in the future as it is now in the past. The society he depicted has been characterized as a “dystopia,” meaning the opposite of a Utopia. The name “Utopia,” the title of a book by the English statesman, Sir Thomas More, (whom you may know, from representations in various media, as the “Man For All Seasons”) is actually a pun, meaning either “No Place” or “Good Place” – depending on how you spelled it in Greek. But the rulers of society in Orwell’s 1984 went so far as to create their own language, called Newspeak. And one of the words in its extensive vocabulary was “Thoughtcrime,” meaning to harbor thoughts not in accord with the doctrine of the regime. In a kind of anachronistic irony, Thomas More himself, some four centuries earlier, was guilty of that very crime. Although he had maintained a good personal relationship with his sovereign, King Henry VIII, and had risen to the position of Lord High Chancellor of England, he was in strong disagreement with Henry’s breaking away from the Church of Rome, and with his divorcing one wife in order to acquire another. Thomas More generally kept these thoughts to himself – but, despite very strong pressure, including imprisonment, and the pleadings of his own family, he refused to sign certain papers signifying his approval of the King’s actions. This was ruled to be tantamount to treason – for which, in 1535, he suffered the penalty of death by beheading. In the years since then, Thomas More has been canonized as a Saint by the Catholic Church – and even the Soviets included his name publicly on an obelisk celebrating revolutionary thinkers (presumably for his “communistic” attitude towards property rights, as expressed in “Utopia”). But the thinking of “politically incorrect” thoughts remains a hot issue into our own time. When brute force is at the disposal of those in power, open dissent becomes, to say the least, a risky business. In Nazi Germany, there were millions who survived only by not revealing their true feelings. Martin Heidegger, the great German philosopher, however, managed to stay on good terms with the Hitler regime, 4 – 11 June 2020
lived in Germany throughout the war, and continued to philosophize when it was over, with an academic reputation more or less intact. There is a song I have always liked, called “The Vicar of Bray,” which covers a period of English History, from about 1660 to 1720 – i.e. a single lifetime – in which there was a change of regime no less than five times, involving, each time, both religious and political changes. In each verse of the song, The Vicar of Bray retains his church position only by ostensibly changing his religious and political views. To give you a taste of this biting piece of wit, I will quote just the last stanza, in which King George I, a Protestant from Hanover, is now the reigning monarch: The illustrious House of Hanover, and Protestant Succession, To these I do allegiance swear – while they may keep possession – And in my faith and loyalty I never more shall falter, And George my lawful King shall be – until the times do alter. We, in this country today, are encouraged to believe that thoughtcrime was just a figment of Orwell’s imagination. You can think whatever you like, we are told. But when it comes to expressing unpopular thoughts, we run into speechcrime. Yes, I know, freedom of speech is a cherished American ideal. But a new concept has emerged – that of hatespeech – which gives us hatespeechcrime. Even in 1984, hate, per se, was not criminal. In fact, there was a daily period of Two Minutes of Hate, for expressing antipathy towards the ruling party’s enemies. The kind of hatespeech which many countries – even democracies – now ban, although they define it in different ways, usually concerns broad dislike of certain ethnic, religious, or cultural groups. Antisemitism is the classic example. But hatespeech can even apply to individuals, in such forms as online bullying. Our thoughts cannot yet be mechanically read – although that time is surely coming. But even today, in our Sweet Land of Liberty, not all hatred is illegal. In fact, a recent President (George H.W. Bush) publicly expressed his hatred of broccoli – and was not impeached. (But what if it had been a hatred of peaches?) •MJ
D
onald Lee Margerum passed peacefully at home in Montecito, California on May 24, 2020. He lived a long and beautiful life, and was ready to leave this life as his health declined. Don was born on March 29, 1926 in Ferguson, Missouri to parents Donald Cameron Margerum and Ida Lee Nunley. His early years were spent in Ferguson with his younger twin brothers, Dave and Dale. Don was interested in science and aviation from a young age, flying model airplanes and building toys for himself and his neighborhood friends. His interests led him into a degree in electrical engineering, initially from University of Missouri, and then to Northwestern for his Master’s Degree. After serving in the Navy, Don married the love of his life, Barbara Barden, and they moved to California to start a family and a new life in Los Angeles. Don had an illustrious career, making many bold moves that got him noticed by various aerospace engineering firms and held several microwave patents. His chapter in the book Microwave Scanning Antennas was a professional accomplishment of which he was very proud. He eventually founded his own company, Raven Electronics, in Burbank, California where he and his team worked to develop proposals for government defense contracts. Don and his wife Barbara moved to Santa Barbara in 1978 when Don was approached by Raytheon, where he worked until retirement. Not long after moving to Santa Barbara the family purchased a small wine shop called the Wine Cask and over the next 30 years his initial investment grew into a revered restaurant and food and wine destination. Don was an avid tennis player and sailor, enjoyed chartering boats for family vacations and sailing competitively with his son, Doug. He loved fly fishing and pursued the outdoors every summer at their cabin in Colorado. He loved his involvement with the Aspen Institute, his passion for undergrounding electrical utilities in Montecito, his book club, his Men’s group, the Unitarian Society discussion groups and VISTAS lifelong learning. Don loved all sweets, especially coconut ice cream, and always had a full cookie jar. Don is survived by his wife, Barbara, children Hugh (and wife Carol), Doug (and wife Marni), and Amy (and husband Gilchrist), his four grandsons Lyle, Slater, Remy, and Evan. The Visiting Nurse and Hospice providers at VNA Health in Santa Barbara provided exceptional care in Don’s final days, and in lieu of gifts, donations can be made to VNA Health or to the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara. •MJ
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