Be honest. If the title had been “Are you prepared to be cancelled?” would you be reading this first sentence? Or how about “Are you prepared to be de-platformed?”? Would that have lured you in? Or does it sound too geeky?
The fact is, those modern-day synonyms merely reflect an awful tradition that dates back centuries, if not to the beginning of man’s time on Earth.
Indeed, there’s a really bad 1986 movie called The Clan of the Cave Bear. It stars Daryl Hannah, whose main character is ostracized from her Neanderthal family. As far as I can tell, they blackballed her because, unlike all the brunettes in the clan, she had blonde hair. (Of course, being caveman times and the lack of adequate shower facilities, perhaps it would be more accurate to describe her as a “dirty blonde.”)
In terms of good cinema, there’s always Looney Tunes’ 1953 cartoon “Bell Hoppy,” featuring Sylvester the Cat voicing the phrase “Blackballed again” when the Loyal Order of Alley Catz Mouse and Chowder Club declines his membership.
Most of us have had the unfortunate experience of being left out. It usually happens when Continue Reading “Blackballed Again: Are You Prepared?”
Thoughts Beyond The Milky Way
If it inspired Vincent van Gogh, then it’s obviously not just me. I think it’s a lot of people. In fact, it’d be a lot more people if they just stopped paying attention to clickbait news for a moment. Imagine the awe they’d experience if they spent a clear night on the highest hill well above the tree line.
Their minds free, they’d see what Plato saw so many centuries ago. A wonder so great can’t help but focus one’s thoughts on pure, unadulterated introspection.
Would that calm frayed nerves? Or would it only make things worse?
I’ve always fallen into the first category. Do you?
For as long as I can remember, the stars have captivated me. Not just the stars. Not just the space between the stars. But what was beyond those stars.
Think of it as the moral equivalent of thoughts evoked when contemplating what lies beyond Continue Reading “Thoughts Beyond The Milky Way”