Percy-L: Literary, Religious, Scientific, and Philosophical Discussion of Walker Percy

["Phil Hammond" <xlate AT yahoo.com>]

I think Percy would be totally against gay marriage. But that's why I'm glad I don't walk around wearing a "WWPD?" wrist band. I think he was definitely a product of his time and place, and his later novels particularly illustrate his out-of-place feeling in the 1970's. And didn't it seem like he became more conservative and doctrinaire as he grew older? It's been a while since I've read Percy, but I remember The Thanatos Syndrome being a lot more "preachy" than his early novels...

 

Regards from Chapel Hill,

Phil

 

 

----- Original Message -----

From: James Piat

To: Percy-L: Literary and Philosophical Discussion

Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2003 5:09 PM

Subject: Re: [percy-l] gay marriage

Dear Steve, Folks-

 

I don't think the meaning of words is fixed or assigned to them by some sort of word police, the Church or any other single or supreme arbiter of politically correct semantics. I think the meaning of words evolves based upon common use reflecting societies' ever changing understanding of reality.  I think Percy's essay on Metaphor as Mistake suggests at least some sympathy for this view  -- or at least some sympathy for the view that there is some play or freedom between a symbol and its referent.  But as to the matter of homosexual marriages  -- I'm all for 'em myself and would like to believe that Percy would have practiced his customary charity and humility in judging the behavior of others,  though how he would have come down on the morality of the issue I've no guess. 

 

Jim Piat

I'm merely defending the word, which apparently hasn't any serious public champions. The lexicon already has too many casualties....they have been hijacked and/or run through.

 

Steve Parlin

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