"We
are rediscovering 'moderation' and seeing afresh the importance
of 'quiet,' of 'smallness, and of 'green.' Sound at shock levels,
dazzling strobe lights which titillate the senses, if not overwhelm
them, are a poor preparation for those who want to see a sunset
or watch the grass grow. The cacophony that often attaches to
the celebration of sensuous things may prevent us from hearing
the little sounds of life so that, figuratively, we are diverted
from noise only by a larger noise, such as the rumblings of
an atomic bomb. Those who are surfeited with fatalism, whose
diet is the equivalent of a constant clash of cymbals, are not
only apt to lose their capacity to feel, but may find themselves
losing the very sensitiveness to other humans which the lyrics
of much modern music celebrate. In the same way, addiction to
large headlines and TV bulletins can distract us from reading
the relevant scriptures. Insensitivities come in clusters, but
the result is the same: we shut out people, nature, and God."
(Maxwell,
A Time to Choose, pp. 70-71.)