MDMD: Back to Innocence-remembering the experiment

[Judy Panetta]

Contemplating this opening chapter through the lens of recent events I was
struck by the time and place Pynchon puts us at the opening of M&D.

Philadelphia:

The capital (so to speak) of William Penn's great "Quaker" experiment. In a
nut shell...the friends believe that all nature is equal and in balance.
That each individual should look to their "inner light" by meditation
thereby understanding in what way they achieve harmony in nature. Bottom
line: no human being is better or worse than any other. (There will be a
reference later on in the book to Penn jailed for not removing his hat in
the presence of the king of England.) Penn's hope for Pennsylvania was
utopian...an experimental community of tolerance based on the ideas of Fox
and others. And in many ways, it sorta kinda worked. Pennsylvania was one of
the few settlements that not only lived peacefully but interacted with the
indigenous people.

Something to keep in mind about friendly sensibilities...the friends do not
believe in majority rule, but rather total community agreement. In this
regard the "inner light" did not always shine brightly for members of
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (a sort of Quaker Vatican where decisions on
important issues are arrived at). In 1754, John Woolman presented "Some
Consideration on the Keeping of Negros" to Yearly Meeting, and the debate
over slavery began. The decision to commit to abolition was reached 70 years
later. It is probably also worth noting that friends were/are staunch
pacifists.

Let us also remember that William Penn was not the founder of the Society of
Friends, but George Fox.
http://encarta.msn.com/find/Concise.asp?z=1&pg=2&ti=761579324

1786:

The dawn of the "Great Experiment." A new nation struggles to make right the
political and social ills of the conventional wisdom. Having just separated
from a (the?) oppressive world power, these delegates to the congress in
Phila. were striving to create a model inspired by the age of enlightenment.

A brief...very brief review of enlightenment that I cribbed from somewhere
on the web:

The Enlightenment
1. believing that every natural phenomenon had a cause and effect
2. a belief that truth is arrived at by reason
3. believing that natural law governed the universe
4. progress would always take place

OK folks...any reactions, comments?