Thursday, Jan. 21, 1999 University Daily Ransom
Page 7
Time Was Made for Slaves
Time is a great legalizer, even in the field of morals. (One o'clock CLOSING HOURS rests on its laurels.) -H. L. Mencken
Make use of time.
Let not advantage tip.
(Fill out the blue
OVERNIGHT SLIP.)
—Shakespeare
These are the times
That try men's Souls.
(At 10 'til the hour,
The WHISTLE blows.)
—Thomas Paine
THE CLOCK is that mechanical monster which governs and influences our lives without exceptions. We are so molded around the stark hands and ashen face that it is difficult, if not impossible to break its spell.
THE CLOCK has achieved a symbol of "efficiency"—rather, it is a symbol of a hypnotized people. It is an unrealized hypnotism as illustrated by the following answers to the question, "What do you think about clocks?"
"They tick."
"They're very necessary."
"If they don't have an alarm, they're all right."
"I don't like 'em."
"They go entirely too fast."
"You tell time by 'em."
"They bang on walls—nice decorations."
"They're worth the time of day."
A few replies redeemed the "signs of the times."
"I am a slave to time."
"Clocks are the essence of time."
"I think there would be fewer heart attacks if we did away with clocks."
Neither Communism nor Democracy is as prevalent in the modern day as a timepiece. The prime controller of action, both physical and mental, is THE CLOCK.
The clock is a visual or tangible expression of an intangible— Time. If an actual clock is not a direct influence on the student, then TIME, and all of its implications, definitely is.
Four years and more of a lifetime is spent in finishing a formal education. A class meets at 8 a.m.; a paper is due at 2 p.m.; a club meets at 4 p.m. There are 15 minutes left before class is over. Where is my assignment book? I've got to get this done before class. Time will pass. Will you?
Servitude to time does not end with college—nor did it begin here. Time clocks are punched. Plumbers work by the hour. The baby has a 2 a.m. feeding. A psychiatrist has prices instead of numerals on the face of his watch. The timer goes off when the cake is done. There's a 7 a.m. train to the city.
THE CLOCK and TIME are the staple of existence. What do you do that is not based on time? What would you do without a clock. Time again rears its ugly head.
TIME has been the subject of poems, plays, essays, novels, and songs. It is like the weather, which, according to Mark Twain, is talked about, but never acted upon.
TIME is squandered, served, played for, called out, cursed, give me, to call it a day, haven't got the, and on my hands.
It's time to stop.
Page layout by Janet Janeau
Photography by Anthony Reed
Better late than never.
(Another JOURNALISTIC endeavor.) —Livy