Wednesday, July 7, 2010
The 20th Century Clogged My Toilet
The 20th century has become a kind of Costco for us. We go there for everything. Everywhere else we assume is dirtier, moldier, not as efficient, without looking. The 20th century is an important century, but foremost because it has prevented us, or at least me, from being able to see far and wide, beyond the windshield and my computer screen. Our century, the 21st, need not be a continuation of the previous century. In fact, time is a hungry rabbit. It jumps around, and lives in the woods somewhere. It goes on vacation during the winter, except when it ventures out on secret runs across the snowy plain.
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"... prevented us, or at least me, from being able to see far and wide..."
ReplyDeleteI wonder, in what sense?
It's true that the 20th century as a framework of thought can induce myopia, although it was worthwhile and often nostalgic revisiting the 20th century, especially the cultural industries during 'golden years' of the 80s and 90s. There are always lessons to be learned going back to history, perhaps even helpful for oneself. But we don't always learn from them, and history repeats itself and so my sense of it is that, our century may not be drastically different in essence. Perhaps the props will be more advanced with special nano-lighting unseen before, but the actors will not be very different because there are some things about humanity and life that will remain the same I suppose.
Yes, there are always lessons to be learned, but not all of them need to be based on past mistakes; in other words, there are positive lessons as much as there are negative ones. My understanding is that the 20th century offers largely negative lessons (which are important lessons, nonetheless) - and I think that is how, to me at least, the 20th century seems as though if it is teeming with a sense of doom and despair to such an extent that I had ended up getting used to coming to know the world as a horrific and only horrific place, and even drawing some kind of evil pleasure from that knowledge. If we look at just the 20th century, it's almost as if we (who are we?) have just discovered that the world is an imperfect place. But it has always been. It was never perfect, and it will never be. The world did not suddenly fall apart during the 20th century; it has been falling apart continuously, and insects, plants, animals, and humans have been living through it all, throughout other centuries as well.
ReplyDeleteSo am I agreeing with you, at least for the most part?
Until recently, I had thought: "I am a pessimist at heart, and that is the only way I can remain optimistic." But is this a valid stance?
Yes, I think you elucidated most of my sentiments, except I don't quite see it as horrific and only horrific (too depressing!) nor draw any pleasure from that knowledge. I think such views vary depending on one's personality, psychology, etc. I learned and understood early on that there is no such thing as perfection in the true sense of the word. But maybe this is a very difficult thing to know and accept for a perfectionist, while other smarter people had long ago accepted imperfection as part of life and simply worked around it. I guess, in this way, perfectionists and idealists perpetually and knowingly punish themselves with a sense of dissatisfaction with everything that will never dissipate in their lifetimes... I feel both despair and gratitude for the tremendous personal sacrifices they imposed on themselves to create the ideals of perfection they held in their hearts. Because of the example of such extraordinary people, I actually now believe near-perfection in a person is possible, and almost anything is possible, as long as you put your heart to it, but people may not understand why there is a need to go to such extent and you may lose some precious things in the process. Of course, I would still think universal perfection, which requires people to be perfect as well, is too much to ask for but shouldn't stop anyone from striving.
ReplyDeleteRegarding your pessimist/optimist view, I think the statement really evokes pessimism to the extreme. If I understand it correctly, it's like you can only recognise and treasure something when you have already accepted the opposite as normal... for things can only be better when you don't expect much. I don't think I can say whether it's valid or not, but I would say it may be helpful in keeping psychological health. I also think it's possible to be an optimist all the time if you want to, by not thinking too much, avoiding anything to do with politics, psychology and philosophy, and retaining a naivety about the larger world like a child, but this may go against the grains of one's personality and interests. I think that's why when people grow older and more knowledgeable, they only grow more pessimistic and disillusioned. I'm reminded of the old British learned gentleman I sometimes read about in novels, described as wearing a persistent frown on the face, which I found interesting. So perhaps that's why.
Yes, a persistent frown would give me infinitely more hope than a persistent smile;
ReplyDeletePolitics, psychology, and philosophy are my favorite 3 P's;
Come to think of it, I probably meant to say both horrific AND advanced, with regards to the 20th century. I used to see the 20 C. as the most "advanced" (purely in the technological sense) century, and even if that was true, it really doesn't mean much at all, or at least, more than it does. I always knew that the concept of advancements (and hence perfectibility) was an illusion, and yet realize now with horror that I had carelessly let this illusion nurture my whole being all these years. Not that all illusions are bad, but illusions can clog toilets, too, once in a while. Not that toilets aren't allowed to get clogged up, either; it's all about timing and duration...
reading this thread has pointed out that my naivety knows no bounds...
ReplyDeletebut that's ok too.
It's ok and is actually desirable because boundless naivete is what makes us sensitive, curious, loving, and vulnerable...but I may be dreaming.
ReplyDelete