Yet another polarity thing
Distraction and Dismissal solve most problems dealing with inadequacy, or at the very least postpone them for a later generation; man passes his cursed baton to all men.
By far the most effective method of perservering is to avoid, or better, forget the truth. Imagination allows a man to continue in his current pathetic state by seperating his mind from his situation. By absorbing himself into his thoughts, or even the idle amusement of the television's lurid glow, he escapes his current troubles. In the realm of his own mind, he is anything he needs to be. The mundanity and perversity of his own life fall easily to the favor of creative escapades and excitement available only through closed eyes.
Still, there is the waking to life after a long daydream, always. After a painter's scenery , the flat landscape of a modern horizon pales violently. Humor consoles a man neatly, dryly, sarcastically, with a slapstick. By laughing off worry and doubt, he feels free to move on to the next page, the next problem, the next empty day. He bypasses any reauirement for action by making light of a heavy brow.
The gods, Imagination and Humor, are only forenames of Distraction and Dismissal, respectively. They dwell in inadequacy, in at least two plain manifestations. The first case that comes to mind is the obvious one of a person feeling he or she is unworthy of affection, success, excitement, response, love... Self-confidence is a rare commodity in adolescants, perhaps not much more common in the rest of the public. The more interesting, but not neccessarily less common dissapointment is with the rest of the world. The world fails to live up to his or her expectations, by not being as garish and bright away from chidren's picture booksm or nearly as available and open-handed as in song. Great titans of Freedom and Love fail so many people, for the simple and terrible reason that they are abstract public concepts. Words that can not be defined, that can't be taught, much less comprehended provide no comfort, no reality. Lesser deities, Humor and Imagination, can only console, distract and obscure man's uncomfortable awareness of his listless consciousness.
Where does humor's place fall? Problems should be dealt with, known, obsered. Is the plight of a thinking man such a hopeless one, or does it only appear to be so because he shrugs his shoulders and turns his head away from too many problems? I'd like to think not, but I can't honestly read that without wincing. There are unanswerable questions that can not be dealt with. But do you really shrug it off? Or do you maintain hope, and keep contributing to seminars, arguing for argument, writing all of these papers?
This was a response to a quote by Francis Bacon:
"Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not;
a sense of humor to console him for what he is."
I'd really like to know what you think. You don't have to answer the questions I asked in my response (it would be nice), just your response to that quote.
By far the most effective method of perservering is to avoid, or better, forget the truth. Imagination allows a man to continue in his current pathetic state by seperating his mind from his situation. By absorbing himself into his thoughts, or even the idle amusement of the television's lurid glow, he escapes his current troubles. In the realm of his own mind, he is anything he needs to be. The mundanity and perversity of his own life fall easily to the favor of creative escapades and excitement available only through closed eyes.
Still, there is the waking to life after a long daydream, always. After a painter's scenery , the flat landscape of a modern horizon pales violently. Humor consoles a man neatly, dryly, sarcastically, with a slapstick. By laughing off worry and doubt, he feels free to move on to the next page, the next problem, the next empty day. He bypasses any reauirement for action by making light of a heavy brow.
The gods, Imagination and Humor, are only forenames of Distraction and Dismissal, respectively. They dwell in inadequacy, in at least two plain manifestations. The first case that comes to mind is the obvious one of a person feeling he or she is unworthy of affection, success, excitement, response, love... Self-confidence is a rare commodity in adolescants, perhaps not much more common in the rest of the public. The more interesting, but not neccessarily less common dissapointment is with the rest of the world. The world fails to live up to his or her expectations, by not being as garish and bright away from chidren's picture booksm or nearly as available and open-handed as in song. Great titans of Freedom and Love fail so many people, for the simple and terrible reason that they are abstract public concepts. Words that can not be defined, that can't be taught, much less comprehended provide no comfort, no reality. Lesser deities, Humor and Imagination, can only console, distract and obscure man's uncomfortable awareness of his listless consciousness.
Where does humor's place fall? Problems should be dealt with, known, obsered. Is the plight of a thinking man such a hopeless one, or does it only appear to be so because he shrugs his shoulders and turns his head away from too many problems? I'd like to think not, but I can't honestly read that without wincing. There are unanswerable questions that can not be dealt with. But do you really shrug it off? Or do you maintain hope, and keep contributing to seminars, arguing for argument, writing all of these papers?
This was a response to a quote by Francis Bacon:
"Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not;
a sense of humor to console him for what he is."
I'd really like to know what you think. You don't have to answer the questions I asked in my response (it would be nice), just your response to that quote.