Deep and Shallow Thoughts on a Muggy Morning

July 23, 2011 by PaulM Posted in Culture, History, Lowell 4 Comments

1. We exist in a universe that humans up to now have not been able to comprehend. We inhabit a planet with weather that at times can be merciless. At other times we enjoy its equilibrium, especially in New England. We live among a vast variety of people, including some who act violently without warning, as seen in Norway yesterday. We live in a global society functioning on innumerable tracks. The expectation is that a person will absorb news of horrendous destruction, massive loss of life somewhere, local squabbles, and consequential political turmoil, and then change gears to do Saturday morning household errands. We shake our heads, saying “senseless, unexplainable, idiotic, exasperating,” depending on the degree of tragedy. To function, we must carry these diverse threads of information in our heads and stay balanced in our response.

2. Are the national Republicans in Washington, D.C., so fearful of President Obama’s political appeal that they will not help him solve any big problem in a way that reflects even some of his policy preferences? In the U.S. Senate, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said months ago that his primary goal is to ensure that President Obama is a one-term president. At what cost to the American public, Sen. McConnell?

3. What is going on with the proliferation of movies based on comics and the return of old-time cartoon superheroes and new versions of the same? I know the comics never went away, but pop culture is densely packed with these characters and stories. Does the trend point to something going on in a society in which many people feel overwhelmed by forces they can do little to affect? A Facebook friend posted yesterday about “Archie” comics. Archie and pals were far from superheroes.

4 Responses to Deep and Shallow Thoughts on a Muggy Morning

  1. Bob Forrant says:

    My theory on the plethora of so-called super hero movies is that we are such a screwed up place these days and we’ve become a society that is so damn lazy we want everyone else to do it for us that these fake heroes are great substitutes for all of us getting engaged and working to fix the gigantic mess that we find the country in. Oh please Superman save me from the jerk-waters running the country, the crony crooks in the state house, the increasing shambles in our own city hall, the foul weather, the sustained lack of rain that is destroying two-thirds of the nation’s farm land, the dust storms in Arizona, the grinding poverty and lack of job creation, the war’s without end amen…..Need I go on?

    Oh please Captain America save me from having to think about what to do and save me from having to actually take some action myself in the face of, by my reading of the nation’s history, one of the lowest points in that history.

    Then again, maybe this is just the heat talking – though i don’t think so.

  2. C R Krieger says:

    The first line reads:  “We exist in a universe that humans up to now have not been able to comprehend.”  Does this mean that we now comprehend it?  Probably not.  Perhaps when on a journey the first question is where am I going?

    When I first came to Lowell, over a decade and a half ago, an older gentlemen gave me this Jacques Maritain quote:  “An obsession with the immediate to the exclusion of the ultimate.”  I think I need to read more from Jacques Maritain.

    Regards  —  Cliff

  3. PaulM says:

    Cliff: I mean to say that we still do not get it. Maybe we cannot get it. The slippery meaning of “it all.”