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Proyecto Visión 21

At one time or another, we are all spectators or clowns

Philosopher Soren Kierkegaard lived in Denmark in the first half of the 19th century. I never studied his writings with the attention he deserves, but I like reading his works. In Provocations, paragraph 96, he says:

“It happened that a fire broke out backstage in a theatre. The clown came out to inform the public. They thought it was just a jest and applauded. He repeated his warning, they shouted even louder. So I think the world will come to an end amid general applause from all the wits, who believe that it is a joke.”

My first reaction after reading this story was to question why a clown was chosen to warn the public about the fire, a serious situation where the lives of the public were in danger.

I immediately realize that, according to Kierkegaard, in this life anybody who shares an important message is but a clown. It doesn’t matter if he or she tries to act in any another way and swears about the seriousness of the message. The public will applaud and even admire the clown for being such a good clown.

What can we say about the inability of the public to detect the danger and to distinguish between the acting on the stage and reality? We can say the public is the same 150 years and today: passive and gullible. Passivity and gullibility leads to inaction even when facing a major threat.

In a sense, we all are public and we all are clowns acting for that public. The public is also known by other names, including voters, followers, or students. The clowns are also called, among other names, politicians, teachers, or preachers.

For the public, the importance or the truth of the message is irrelevant. The public will laugh at our speech and we will laugh at the speech of the clown talking to us.

In fact, we have become addicted to clown-like people. Think about the popularity of reality shows. Sometimes they deal with serious issues, but we are still laughing.

Are you telling me that most of the states in the United States have less water than the water they need? You are kidding! Did you say that for the first time in a long time the life-expectation of this generation is shorter than the previous one? Don’t make me laugh!

Did I hear you saying China lacks enough food to feed her own people and therefore there will be a wave of immigration from China to this country? Applause!

We can add more elements to the list, including education, health, poverty, social conditions, criminality, employment, and, of course, immigration. But there is no point in doing it, since we will only get more applause.

Kierkegaard always leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth, but with a greater clarity in my mind and heart. I don’t laugh at him nor applaud him. Life is too precious to live like a clown acting for an audience of mindless spectators.

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