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Prisons We Choose to Live Inside Doris Lessing Books

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Prisons We Choose to Live Inside Doris Lessing Books

Recently I bought this book, having gotten it years ago for my daughter to help with a senior school project, and having listened to it in the original Massey Lectures form on CBC radio in the mid 80's. It's a short book- easy to read and understand, and really everyone today should read it. Especially parents and educators. Lessing's thesis is that modern humans are prone to acting out our atavistic hard-wired primitive barbarism in the form of all sorts of mass hysteria and herd behaviours, from war and racist lynchings to soccer fan and Antifa riots and all the kinds of hateful stuff we're seeing in our society today often in the name of the greater good.

Reading it again after all these years I'm struck by how timely it is today. Struck and saddened.

We think we're above all that, and how it could never be us... until we get swept up in the herd mentality. Do you doubt you'd do it? Just look at the news today with people freaking out about old Civil War statues and symbols from our past, freaking out with hatred for bigots.... apparently completely oblivious to the irony of that. Everywhere you look today you see moral outrage at one group or another - outrage which all too often ends in violence or at least calls for violence.

Lessing's message apparently is timeless since we obviously haven't gotten the message, nor done a very good job educating our children about it. This book is short, easy to read and understand, and highly recommended for anyone older than about 12 years who cares about humanity.

"Of course it may be argued that this is a fairly bleak view of life. It means, for instance, that we can stand in a room full of dear friends, knowing that nine-tenths of them, if the pack demands it, will become our enemies - will, as it were, throw stones through our windows. It means that if you are a member of a close-knit community, you know you differ from this community's ideas at the risk of being seen as a no-goodnik, a criminal, an evil-doer. This is an absolutely automatic process; nearly everyone in such situations behaves automatically." (p. 18)


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Prisons We Choose to Live Inside Doris Lessing Books Reviews

SO relevant for today!
If you are feeling despair for the human race in general based on current events this is your book. It helped to change my own filter that I automatically use when processing current events and made them seem, however briefly, less insane.... This book is excellent!
One of the best books I've ever read!
This is a good one. Not overlong, but Doris Lessing provides another point of view on subject matter that is as apropos today as it was when she wrote it.
The Nobel Laureate Lessing is incomparably clear in how we can change our lives for the better in this very short book.
Our lives could be so much better if only we would slightly modify how we live.
Everyone should read this book. It explained things to me no one tells you, for one ex, why men love war. If you're a parent and you read this book it will open your mind to make you an even better parent.
I really didn’t think I’d ever read this book. I bought it because it was cheap and I kind of like Doris Lessing, but as soon as I started reading it, I was hooked and read straight through. The book consists of transcripts from five lectures about politics and history, but are mostly about how to think independently and not get trapped by partisan fervor on the right or left. Sounds boring. It wasn’t, to me.
Recently I bought this book, having gotten it years ago for my daughter to help with a senior school project, and having listened to it in the original Massey Lectures form on CBC radio in the mid 80's. It's a short book- easy to read and understand, and really everyone today should read it. Especially parents and educators. Lessing's thesis is that modern humans are prone to acting out our atavistic hard-wired primitive barbarism in the form of all sorts of mass hysteria and herd behaviours, from war and racist lynchings to soccer fan and Antifa riots and all the kinds of hateful stuff we're seeing in our society today often in the name of the greater good.

Reading it again after all these years I'm struck by how timely it is today. Struck and saddened.

We think we're above all that, and how it could never be us... until we get swept up in the herd mentality. Do you doubt you'd do it? Just look at the news today with people freaking out about old Civil War statues and symbols from our past, freaking out with hatred for bigots.... apparently completely oblivious to the irony of that. Everywhere you look today you see moral outrage at one group or another - outrage which all too often ends in violence or at least calls for violence.

Lessing's message apparently is timeless since we obviously haven't gotten the message, nor done a very good job educating our children about it. This book is short, easy to read and understand, and highly recommended for anyone older than about 12 years who cares about humanity.

"Of course it may be argued that this is a fairly bleak view of life. It means, for instance, that we can stand in a room full of dear friends, knowing that nine-tenths of them, if the pack demands it, will become our enemies - will, as it were, throw stones through our windows. It means that if you are a member of a close-knit community, you know you differ from this community's ideas at the risk of being seen as a no-goodnik, a criminal, an evil-doer. This is an absolutely automatic process; nearly everyone in such situations behaves automatically." (p. 18)