A selection from Gordon Lightfoot's "Apology"
"I remember all those lines
Givin' me direction
Gather not your gold on earth
It will not pass inspection
And still I think when I'm alone
Away from all night splendor
If gold could buy one night with her
I wish I had some to send her"
I watched Rumor Has It Tuesday night. I did not sleep during the movie. I laughed. I was separated from my sorrows for two hours. As my father says, it was entertainment.
But I could not leave it alone. I had to think about the movie, even though the movie did not ask for thought.
The movie was about the struggle between doing right and doing wrong. It was about flawed characters who did wrong and the people who allowed them to do wrong. The message was as long as you repent, all sins should be forgiven. Humans cannot act rationally and that is okay.
Of course I do not agree with any of the movie's premises, but I recognize the struggle.
So there is two things I got from the movie. First it was not a bad movie. Second I have to learn how to keep my mouth shut and stop bothering people with my interpretations of mediocre movies.
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5 comments:
Humans are not rational all the time. We do dumb things that we wish we hadn't. We are living being with flaws and imperfections. Sin is a real thing. You can't wish it away with the writings of Rand or anyone else.
I think this is part of the human condition. How can there be great jazz and blues if humans were strictly rational beings all the time? I think the only convincing answer is that it has to be about the soul...
This comment represents Sam and I's misunderstanding.
There is sin. There is evil. There are collective goods. But just because they exist does not mean they are right. It does not mean they are necessary or good. I do not deny that the world is not perfect. I do deny that it cannot be perfect.
I will not embrace imperfections and call them unavoidable.
The reason I like the Blues (and the Realists) is they paint how far reality is from the ideal. Rand and I differ on this point. I think art should describe 'what is'. But it cannot glorify imperfections. "Rumor Has It" glorifed caving into irrational sexual desire. It glorified human weakness. It said exactly what Sam said in his comment, "Humans are weak and need to be protected from themselves."
What the movie and Sam are saying is bullshit.
Anton Chekov on the short story:
"My goal is to kill two birds with one stone: to paint life in its true aspects, and to show how far this life falls short of the ideal life. I don't know what this ideal life is, just as it is unknown to all of us. We all know what a dishonest deed is, but who has looked upon the face of honor? I shall keep the truth nearest my heart which has been tested by men stronger and wiser than I am. The truth is the absolute freedom of man, freedom from oppression, from predjuices, ignorance, passions, etc."
Of course this is pseudointellectual masturbation.
So is every Lennon or Springsteen song. Every hypothetical thought is ridiculous. It is waste. But it is life.
I do not understand this nothingness concept. I do not understand why we cannot ask questions. We are living life. Are we living the life we should? We do not know. But we are trying to find out if it is the life we want. I could be drunk. I could be working in a grocery store. But I am here. I do not know if I like it or not, but I am living life.
I am still more afraid of the people who do not ask questions than Sam and myself.
The Catholic church is not indifferent. I wish it was. I see that quote (in different forms) a lot. Weisel's context makes it an important quote, but like many quotes, out of context it can be dangerous. Action for action's sake can make a problem worse quickly.
I am going to stop masturbating for now. The urge will come back. The urge makes life worth living.
I like Springsteen too. I also like reading Rand and whining in my blog. And Sam likes reading Stata manuals, discussing evolutionary programming, and predicting the weather through Bayesian networks.
If there is no right and wrong (no sin) how can Jeff pass judgement? How can Jeff say his way is better? How can academia make Jeff angry? How can Sam and I make Jeff react? Jeff cannot say Sam and I are wrong without admitting there is a right way.
Frankly I do not understand Sam or Jeff. Sam claims to believe in God but cannot decipher between good and evil. Jeff claims there is no God but continually criticizes people for being wrong.
There is no comfort in ignorance.
Jeff, poor in what sense? You have a wife, a car, loving parents, a masters' degree, work experience, and opportunity. You have DVDs and books and someone to share them with tonight.
What do Sam and I really have?
("Human Touch" hits harder when you are sitting in a chicken coop office on a Saturday night.)
Jeff is right though. This circle jerk has to stop.
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