DANIEL J TOWNSEND
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Lonely? Bored? Anxious? Passive? Call Now.

7/10/2014

1 Comment

 
To be a modern person is to be lonely, bored, anxious and passive.

That is, according to the German psychologist-philosopher Erich Fromm. 

This is the great mind who reinterpreted the story of Adam and Eve to be a virtuous one. He pointed out that being able to distinguish between good and evil is generally considered to be a good thing, but that biblical scholars usually speak about Adam and Eve in the same way that teachers speak about naughty children. Fromm praised Adam and Eve for actually having a go and not just doing what they were told. He reckoned this is what made them truly human: weighing up the situation and then taking action. 

And Fromm said that the most profound characteristics of modern people - of you and me - are loneliness, boredom, anxiety and passivity.

That last one is the word that sticks with me. I'm such a sit-and-watch-the-wheels kinda cat.

And anything beyond this point would amount to a sermon or a lecture from me, some pseudo-authority handing out fruit-eating guidelines. 

You work it out. I will too. Let's compare notes in a week. Or not. It's up to you.
1 Comment
Nick
10/10/2014 06:30:55 pm

It hasn't quite been a week, but I'll forget if I leave it any longer...

Lonely, bored, anxious and passive? Sure. When you no longer have to worry about where your next meal is coming from (or whether it is coming at all), we end up with questions of purpose. And since there's no good answer to the search for purpose, those 4 things seem about right, along with a few others.

But that's a bloody negative way at looking at things - which comes naturally to me!

In many ways, the modern peasant is the most powerful in human history - if only we weren't so passive. Let's get of our arse's!

I like Fromm's reinterpretation of the Adam and Eve story - screw God if he wants us to be stupid, obedient servants. I'd rather William Wallace face paint over that every day of the week.

Jesus argued with God...

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  • About
  • Music
    • Broken Voices and The Eyes of Men (2021)
    • MIdland Highway: The Musical (2020)
    • Songs From The Great Pause (2020)
    • A Tale of Two Cities (2018)
    • World Until Yesterday (2016)
    • Iscariot (2014)
  • Words
    • Podcast
    • The Little Hand Files
    • Faxes to a Young Songwriter >
      • 1-10
      • 11-20
      • 21-30
      • 31-40
      • 41-50
      • 51-60
      • 61-70
      • 71-80
      • 81-90
      • 91-100
      • 101-The End
    • An Old Blog I Found Lying Around
  • House Shows
  • Workshops
  • Store
  • News/Letter