In an old book I have, National Encyclopedia of Business and Social Forms etc., published in 1884, is a section on Lyceums & Debating Societies. Being quite proper and Victorian, it has everything spelled out, in fine detail, of how to organise and run one.

The book was given to my aunt in 1925, by a person who was then 90 years old. Auntie is alive and well at 89 now, and almost as well-versed in the Internet and email as her 80 year old sister; the only two left living from my mom's family, since mom passed on a year ago this next Tuesday.

One section of the book is called Questions for Discussion by Societies and includes such topics as
"Was the Execution of Mary Queen of Scots Justifiable?";
"Has the Invention of Gunpowder been of Benefit to Mankind?";
Does Virtue necessarily produce Happiness, and does not Vice necessarily produce Misery in the Life";
"Has Novel-reading a Moral Tendency?"; and
"Which has done the greater Service to Truth: Philosophy or Poetry?"

Under each of those is a list of suggested works to refer to.

It occured to me while looking those over, that what we really have here at the Mudcat is the 21st Century equivalent of those seemingly outmoded Societies. I am sure my ancestors never would have believed a little over one hundred years later that people would be sitting, alone, in their homes, having the same sort of discussions, allbeit without the rigid rules of Victorian etiquette, on little machines which lighted up and were connected somehow to one another by wires and strange orbs in the sky.

Somehow, I like the idea of people taking the time to converse on such learned subjects as we do, here, as well as those which are more light-hearted. It gives me a connection to the past and hope for the future of my grandsons, who someday may tell everyone about their hip grannie who had this ancient old PC and the wonderful people whom she called her friends who visited with her on it.

luvyaKat