"More than at any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly."
These days many who are religious see signs of the “End Times, while many more have good reason to believe we are living in the “Grim Times”. I suggest that our era could be characterized as the “Whim Times” since citizens all around the world are affected by the capriciousness of one unstable and powerful autocrat in one country. As Dylan might say, “The answers, my friend, are blowin’ in the whim.”
“Weltschmerz” might be the word that the Germans or the more learned would use to describe the general consensus held, at least, by the non-MAGA people, that things are not good. Given that things are bad, one might think that the wisdom of Woody was revealed very recently. That is not the case.
Woody’s thoughtful remark was written at the end of the 1970s, a decade which would not generally be defined, by even the most nostalgic, as one containing a large number of the good old days. Still, 1979, the year of the Woody quote, must have been better than any since, say the inauguration of 2017. While many of the religious are anxiously wondering “What Would Jesus Do?”, I think the much more interesting question is now “What Would Woody Say?”
Source:
(And much, much more since my wife insists you don’t look at this part.)
The quotation is found in, “My Speech to the Graduates,” by Woody Allen, The New York Times, Aug. 10, 1979.
I wondered if a closer look at his speech and the entire issue of The New York Times on Aug.10, of 1979 might reveal why Woody was feeling so glum. Many of the headlines then were similar to ones found now. Israel was an issue even at that time: “Giving Up Sinai is Deeply Painful to Israelis There” and “Mideast Plan is Offered and Quickly Disclaimed in Bonn,” are examples. Some things were simpler in the summer of ‘79. When the 24,000-member American Academy of Pediatrics announced that “The Girl Athlete” was to be the subject of a seminar at their next meeting, no mention of gender (trans or all the others) was made and the discussions were to be about such matters as athletic injuries. Woody could have been upset about the athletic endeavours of the NY baseball teams since the Yankees lost to the Sox, 5-1 and the Mets to the Cardinals by 4-0.
Some things were better back then. At least for that one day in August in 1979, there was no mention in the NYT of the crook from Queen's, who in the 80s was to be often referred to as the “short-fingered vulgarian", and in this century to be elected as President of the United States - twice!
Like Woody, I was around in 1979, but in Canada where maybe things were better than they were for Woody in the U.S. But, I doubt that he ever thought the situation there would be as bad as it is now. He does offer us some additional wisdom at the end of the article which does make one feel better:
“Summing up, it is clear the future holds great opportunities. It also holds pitfalls. The trick will be to avoid the pitfalls, seize the opportunities, and get back home by six o’clock.”
----
"Making Light of Heavy Things Since 2016"
No comments:
Post a Comment