The following extracts come from chapters 2 and 5 of The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.
“…the vogons turned on their PA again. It said: ‘…you’ve had plenty of time to lodge any formal complaint and it’s far too late to start making a fuss about it now.’
‘…I’m sorry, but if you can’t be bothered to take an interest in local affairs that’s your own lookout.’
…said Arthur, ‘when can I go home?’
‘You can’t,’ said Ford Prefect.
‘…And what’s happened to the Earth?’
‘Ah. It’s been demolished.’
‘Has it?’ said Arthur levelly.
‘Yes. It just boiled away into space.’
‘Look,’ said Arthur, ‘I’m a bit upset about that.’”
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I was wondering when you’d quote that particular piece of the Guide.
I think sometimes people believe that “laws” and “regulations” don’t apply to themselves, only others. It’s scary to think that some of those people are the ones in “power”.
Interestingly, the plans for the hyperspace pass were in a nearly impossible place for earthlings to get at and read, so they were doomed without knowing about it. Sound familiar? You know, when bills have 5 or 6 hidden pieces to them that have absolutely nothing to do with the intent of the original bill?
Ah, politics. Isn’t it fun?
Ruralmama ~ so true!
Alison ~ you've made me want to go back & reread that Hitch Hiker's Guide!
When looking for these quotes I was really struck by the sentence “if you can’t be bothered to take an interest in local affairs that’s your own lookout”.
It’s easy to become so distracted by everyday stuff that we fail to notice the big picture of what is happening locally.
Yes, I always laugh about Arthur having to go down to the basement to view the documents which were “displayed” in a filing cabinet and about the Vogons expecting Earthlings to go to Alpha Centauri.
Thanks for the comments.
One of my all time favorite books… well the whole “Trilogy” in fact
Mr. Adams had a way of hitting the nail on the head, didn’t he?
You’re right Maureen. And he made the ridiculousness of bureaucracy funny. City bypasses were such a big thing in the UK in the 1970’s. Town center traffic was a big problem so it kind of made sense, but the repercussions were significant. Many small towns and villages lost most of their business when they were bypassed.