Late this summer, '300' was on HBO again. I watched it and thought of a Newsweek article about how Burt Reynolds in Deliverance is Dick Cheney's idealized version of self.
In the same vein, I hypothesized that King Leonidas in '300' is John McCain's idealized self.
I then ran the Chicago Urbanathalon (to attain my ideal version of self) and received one free copy of Men's Health magazine in my race day packet. It contained a cover story about Gerard Butler, the actor who played Leonidas.
When asked how he pulled off his journey to stardom, Butler stated, "What happens is that the universe conspires. Once you make a decision to do something, the universe starts to help you."
The author of the article then wrote, "He's paraphrasing a famous idea attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson."
I liked what I read (because my ideal self is a well-read, chiseled Hollywood star perhaps?) and I tracked down some Emerson. Wikipedia, Google, some essays and articles.
With Self-Reliance fresh on the brain, Barack Obama got elected President and gave a Victory speech in which he alluded to Emerson and Self-Reliance twice.
First he mentioned his campaign wasn't hatched in Washington but in, "...Living Rooms in Concord..." Later he alludes to Lincoln's Republican Party which he said was founded on, "self reliance..."
The fires of Transcendentalism now ablaze, I reran my search. I found out from a SanFrancisco Gate article that sure enough, Barack Obama lists "Self-Reliance" as a favorite (among others) on his Facebook page.
The next move was to Read Self-Reliance for myself. And my God is it good.
Not just good. Genius. Current. Necessary.
For anyone curious about the process of true innovation, true originality--Read it. In our culture of retreads, this is one read that will get you looking finally to the future.
The Question then: So is Self Reliance Barack Obama's idealized version of self?
Perhaps... after all, Ralph Waldo Emerson influenced Abraham Lincoln and he was godfather to William James the architect of "Pragmatism". That much is up for discussion.
A more important Question: What is America's idealized version of self?
I think we just elected him President.
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
A regular guy digests the maw of culture, giving the world examples of order.
The American Dream is big and bent and gray and old. There's a scar on its cheek and our blood runs cold. It sits at its table dealing stud, and we want nothing more than to hit the son-of-a-bitch in the teeth. With a chair.
We are all the Boy Named Sue. Gravel in the gut, spit in the eye-- time to get tough or die.
This blog is where we all scuffle in the street. In the mud and the blood and the beer. We'll laugh. We'll cry. I'll cut off a piece of your ear. And we'll all come away with a different point of view.
We are all the Boy Named Sue. Gravel in the gut, spit in the eye-- time to get tough or die.
This blog is where we all scuffle in the street. In the mud and the blood and the beer. We'll laugh. We'll cry. I'll cut off a piece of your ear. And we'll all come away with a different point of view.
Labels
- 300 (1)
- Bailout Plan (1)
- Barack Obama (7)
- Baseball (1)
- Eddie Vedder (1)
- Fannie Mae (1)
- Freddie Mac (1)
- Jeb Bartlett (1)
- Joe Biden (1)
- John McCain (5)
- Kaleb (1)
- Propaganda (1)
- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1)
- Sarah Palin (6)
- Tom Brady (1)
Sue Bylevyn
Transparency
Sue Bylevyn is a pen name.
1 comment:
Great catch with the Self-Reliance. That blew right past me. This is why I read Hot Mess.
Post a Comment