Hear Them Laugh

Eternity is a mere moment, just long enough for a joke.

Hermann Hesse
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If there are angels they must be having a riotous time for themselves observing the human race. What could be funnier?

We gather together in order to protect ourselves from the elements. Then, since we can't be relied upon to govern ourselves, we establish governments and write laws. Then we turn government into politics. Politics allows us to take up sides based on a variety of reasons, most of them trvial, some of them nefarious. Then things become so divisive that we start brawling with each other over simple points of conduct which should be clear and obvious to everyone. The brawling turns to violence. Down comes the government.

Then we agree to monarchy, dictatorship which soon becomes tyranny.
But now we have a powerful leader to protect us from the elements. He surrounds himself with a strong army to protect us and to protect himself from us, in case his arbitrary decisions make us uppity, which they soon do. We tear down the dictator and establish a government of the people And start the process all over again. But we still haven't learned selfgovernment. Who's that chuckling.

If we have money we spend it on style and fashion. The very wealthy buy homes that are much too big for them. The women appear in some of the most outlandish get ups simply because they are designed by some world class vendor of spectacles. Those are accompanied by expensive hair dos that produce a "look." Men are just as ridiculous, remember the Nehru jacket, pink shirts, oxford grays and the duck tail hair cut? Then men begin to have either too much hair or none. I hear laughter.

Then there are the automobiles. Not vehicles to transport people around but metallic chariots to challenge the opulence of our neighbors.

We start out, having discovered fire, to eat food because it tastes good. But then we turn to eating it because it's fat free, sugar free, or low in cholesterol, never mind how it tastes. We float medicines to take care of every little wrinkle and twinge, and then we recall them because they cause more harm than good. Who's that laughing?

We create amazing communication devices and then turn them over to be used for inane and useless entertainment which allows people to discuss the intricacies of a silly plot over their decaf. We make up methods for keeping ourselves informed of world and local events, and instead of objectivity they soon become opinion sources mirroring the divisiveness of our politics. Then they have to be scrubbed clean so they can start over.

We enjoy making up conspiracy theories while we ignore the real ones. We all praise the courage and bravery of our soldiers whatever country we're from but no one asks where the weapons come from.

Then there are our sports. Balls are thrown, kicked or smacked around by people who make an astonishing amount of money doing it, so they can buy a house too big for them or a fancy metal chariot. While other sports are about knocking people down to score points. And it's all done by people wearing bizarre clothes. More chuckles.

And the arts. People doodling with paint, making squiggles and blobs, then hanging it up with a strange title and a price tag, other people even come and buy it. Ballet, two people naked from the waste down jumping around in front of everybody. Opera, a woman singing at the top of her lungs while an orchestra is trying to drown her out. Much laughter from above.

I think I understand it. In ancient Greece they would present a trilogy of tragedies on a single story and then follow them with a satire on the same story. I think that's what the Great Creator has done. After making light and firmament the stars, the sun, the moon, the earth, the creatures who swim in the sea and fly through the air, those who creep upon the ground and those four footed beasts who roam the earth, he decided to make a satire, a joke, so he created man (male and female, created he them.) then rested and left it to the angels to enjoy the joke. And they are still laughing.

DB - The Vagabond
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WINTER QUESTION
(This is not a contest)

What was the most significant event that happened in 2010?

dbdacoba@aol.com

Only 7 responses so far

I await your answer.
DB
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Hello

Maybe there is a priceless ore deep down below the surface of the earth that spreads out over all the globe and unites every continent and all people.

DB - The Vagabond
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When I first came up with this idea I was thinking in geologic terms. I envisioned some primordial ash, from an ancient volcanic eruption, that had been buried under billions of tons of earth and compressed into a fine sacred stone. If we dug in any place, Siberia, Ireland, Botswana, Alaska and Argentina we would eventually come to find it in all those places.

Maybe it's there. But since then I've raised my consciousness a bit above the ground level up to where the blossoms are. I believe there is a priceless ore, but it's not to be found by digging.

I don't think there is any question that the most interesting creature walking upon the earth is the human being. We are seemingly endless in our different abilities, behaviors, characteristics, personalities, errors, dreams, illusions, accomplishments, idiosyncrasies, failures, forms, mentalities, reactions, perceptions, beliefs and destinies. The philosopher Immanuel Kant believed that the purpose of the human race is to become what it is capable of becoming.

I liken living one's life as a walk in a forest. Some times the way is smooth and pleasant and sometimes it's steep and harsh. Along the way there are some who will help you up the steep and rocky places and there are some who will kick dirt in your face. That's the human race for you.

I've had more than my share of dirt in my life and maybe I have even kicked a little in the past. But I've also been able to help a few people over the rough spots and I much prefer that. The dirt kickers are the enemies of humanity, of course, but there's an even worse enemy. It's known as "not caring" and it marches under the banner of inertia in the uniform of selfishness.

There is a vast web of friendship throughout the world and it is what is keeping civilization together. But it is a vulnerable cobweb and can easily be broken by inertia, by not caring. It is the sacred ore of the earth that unites us. We must never let it get buried.

So here is your mission, "should you choose to accept it." Make a list of people, 10 or so, people you know and like, perhaps they are people you haven't spoken to in a while, or people you mean to keep in touch with but don't, people who are somewhere along your part of the friendship web, and on their journal page, or in an email or on a postcard, simply say: "I'm thinking about you and I'm writing just to say hello." Or similar words of you own choosing. I will do the same.

DB - The Vagabond