Sometimes it appears that we're reaching a
period when our senses and our minds
will no longer respond to moderate stimulation.

We seem to be approaching
an age of the grouse,
persuasion through speeches and books
is too often discarded for disruptive demonstrations
aimed at bludgeoning the unconvinced into action.

The young, overwhelm themselves with drugs and artificial stimulants.
Subtlety is lost and find distinctions based on acute reasoning are
carelessly ignored, in a headlong jump to a predetermined conclusion.

Life is visceral rather than intellectual,
and the most visceral practitioners of life
are those who characterize themselves as intellectuals.