Umberto Eco is known by most as an engaging author of historical fiction such as The Name of the Rose, Foucault’s Pendulum, or The Island of the Day Before; all books which I have enjoyed and can recommend. Additionally, like one of my other Italian favorites, Primo Levi ; Eco is also an engaging essayist and at times finds his best voice in an essay where he is never bereft of ideas.
Scouring the library for a read I came across “Turning Back the Clock – hot wars and media populism”. And though I don’t always align with his conclusions I find them thoughtful or provoking – some of which follow. I appreciate the opportunity to wrestle a new thought, to look at something I take as basic and go a thought deeper, or simply admire the eloquence and turning of a phrase of one who can link a few bon mots more gracefully than I.
Local Peace. “the work of reducing local conflicts inspires us with the confidence that one day it will also be possible to solve global conflicts.” A succession of local peaces might lead to a grander reconciliation. I might not be condie rice or hillary yet I can individually strive for peace, it can begin with you and me. Perhaps stopping one act of road rage can, in fact, have a snowball effect... Let it begin with me
Play vs. Carnival. "play, as a moment of carefree exercise, which is good for the body … removes the tristitia of labor, and certainly sharpens our mental capacities, must be parenthetical if it is to be true play. .. Now one of the characteristics of the culture we live in is the total Carnivalization of life.” Think of how work, TV, Sunday school, mobile phones, politic, even sporting events must provide continual engagement, constant entertainment. Not carnival as a break or respite in a temporary catch your breath fashion but a non-stop carnivalization. We have lost some of the dimension of simply play, simple pleasure in the intensity of carnivalization. Do you work and then play or must you continually be on carnival. “But we need to reflect on the fact that total carnivalization does not satisfy desire, it sharpens it”
Loss of privacy. “It is precisely the behavior of exhibitionists that tells us how much the assault on privacy has become – a social cancer". The assault on privacy accustoms everyone to the disappearance of privacy, and so we say everything openly – email, the cell phone call at the restaurant, the tag on face book – little by little we become exhibitionists – nothing is confidential – no behavior is scandalous as corollaries apologies and confession are not needful for everything is transparent and nothing causes offense. Moral erosion. We need a reinvigorated sense of reserve of boundaries for ourselves and for others.
And some miscellaneous thoughts:
On political correctness.” let us at last agree that it is politically correct to use words, including pc terms, in their proper way and in accordance with common sense. And let us stick to the fundamental principle that it is humane and civilized to eliminate from current usage all those words that make our fellow beings suffer.”
The chrysanthemum and the sword by Ruth Benedict 1946
One element of confusion is that we often fail to grasp the difference between identifying with our roots, understanding those who have other roots and judging what is bad or good’
Instead of telling our children all people are the same we should tell them all children are different and explain what those differences are to show they can be a source of richness.
Try to understand and accept the customs and traditions of the host country. And an invitation to the hosts: make sure that your customs and traditions don’t turn into the imposition of your faith
The beauty of growing and maturing is in realizing that life is a marvelous accumulation of knowledge. We call this experience. The challenge is in not having it all pass away t your death. To share it so others can ‘remember” your learnings, your experiences, and your knowledge so they are not lost – leaving messages in bottles for those who wall come after
