"Before I understood this place", indeed.
A couple of wks. ago, I had the singularly unpleasant experience of watching a lovely children's movie and, for the first time, crying upon its happy conclusion. The rather-too-loveable main character survived his perilous journey, he got the girl, and he managed to unite all of humanity behind his noble cause. This last bit is what precipitated the lacrimosal leakage. I cried while watching a happy ending b/c I knew as I saw the images of the fictional media coverage, public outcry, and concerted efforts of world leaders to solve the problem that this would never, EVER happen in real life. I think what really made me lose it was the footage of the U.N. passing a resolution and then implementing it successfully, sans political infighting, corporate interference, or plain ol' logistical bungling.
Thanks to my education and, uh, my ability to read the daily world news, I am well acquanited with the difficulty the U.N. has in gaining consensus of any kind, coupled with its near-impotence in terms of execution. I'm not trying to bash the U.N. here. I respect its stated mission, I believe the potential for greatness exists, and I firmly support many of its recent initiatives. I also, however, recognize that its mission is often neglected or manipulated, its potential is as yet unmet, and its recent initiatives remain unknown to average citizen of the world. Further, my own life experience makes it impossible for me to believe that even smthg. as notable as a tap-dancing penguin would be sufficient to spur the world toward making a sweeping, positive change such as the one in this movie. I just don't think human beings have enough humanity in them to 'do the right thg.', to set aside personal interests and politics and band together to make a much-needed reform.
I have long been a cynic, but my inability muster even the innocence needed to watch a simple movie and enjoy its simple, happy ending for what it is is deeply wrong. Worse, I don't see any way of going back. Even as I attempt to make a positive -- if small -- impact on the world, I can think only of the futility of such efforts. There must be a tiny thread of hope left in me, or else I don't think I would bother w/my individual efforts, but perhaps that is just a fatalistic vanity or outright desperation. Either way, it's not good.
On a tangentially related note, I read an interesting article in the first Nov. issue of The Economist abt. new research that indicates early humans developed white scleras (as opposed to the dark ones of other primates) as a result of and to further facilitate their natural tendency toward cooperation and communication. The ability to determine what another human-ish primate was looking at allowed better coordination of hunting parties and probably contributed to the development of higher-level thinking (e.g., planning, organizing, empathy, etc.). This, in turn, gave early man an edge over its competitors, allowing our ancestors to best their less socially-minded peers. Sad, then, that modern man fails miserably at both communicating and cooperating. Could this maladaptive development be a harbinger of thgs. to come?
Could this entry be a little more doom-and-gloomy?
A couple of wks. ago, I had the singularly unpleasant experience of watching a lovely children's movie and, for the first time, crying upon its happy conclusion. The rather-too-loveable main character survived his perilous journey, he got the girl, and he managed to unite all of humanity behind his noble cause. This last bit is what precipitated the lacrimosal leakage. I cried while watching a happy ending b/c I knew as I saw the images of the fictional media coverage, public outcry, and concerted efforts of world leaders to solve the problem that this would never, EVER happen in real life. I think what really made me lose it was the footage of the U.N. passing a resolution and then implementing it successfully, sans political infighting, corporate interference, or plain ol' logistical bungling.
Thanks to my education and, uh, my ability to read the daily world news, I am well acquanited with the difficulty the U.N. has in gaining consensus of any kind, coupled with its near-impotence in terms of execution. I'm not trying to bash the U.N. here. I respect its stated mission, I believe the potential for greatness exists, and I firmly support many of its recent initiatives. I also, however, recognize that its mission is often neglected or manipulated, its potential is as yet unmet, and its recent initiatives remain unknown to average citizen of the world. Further, my own life experience makes it impossible for me to believe that even smthg. as notable as a tap-dancing penguin would be sufficient to spur the world toward making a sweeping, positive change such as the one in this movie. I just don't think human beings have enough humanity in them to 'do the right thg.', to set aside personal interests and politics and band together to make a much-needed reform.
I have long been a cynic, but my inability muster even the innocence needed to watch a simple movie and enjoy its simple, happy ending for what it is is deeply wrong. Worse, I don't see any way of going back. Even as I attempt to make a positive -- if small -- impact on the world, I can think only of the futility of such efforts. There must be a tiny thread of hope left in me, or else I don't think I would bother w/my individual efforts, but perhaps that is just a fatalistic vanity or outright desperation. Either way, it's not good.
On a tangentially related note, I read an interesting article in the first Nov. issue of The Economist abt. new research that indicates early humans developed white scleras (as opposed to the dark ones of other primates) as a result of and to further facilitate their natural tendency toward cooperation and communication. The ability to determine what another human-ish primate was looking at allowed better coordination of hunting parties and probably contributed to the development of higher-level thinking (e.g., planning, organizing, empathy, etc.). This, in turn, gave early man an edge over its competitors, allowing our ancestors to best their less socially-minded peers. Sad, then, that modern man fails miserably at both communicating and cooperating. Could this maladaptive development be a harbinger of thgs. to come?
Could this entry be a little more doom-and-gloomy?
1 comment:
wow! pretty gloomy....just as gloomy as the book i am reading..yes I have finally cracked open George Orwell's 1984. Its pretty bleak. Cheers to the new year!
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