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Contradictions, Connections, and Tension from Joss Whedon
27 May 2013 10:36 - 23 Jan 2017 11:29 #1
by ScienceChic
"Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.” -King T'Challa, Black Panther
The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. ~Winston Churchill
I'm gonna start this thread off with a request: read the entire address, not just the little teaser I quoted below. tongue: This is a thread in which I hope to have a good, thoughtful debate about our connections, tensions, and contradictions, and the gift or curse that you think they are, and how they can be the source of our solutions or problems.
If you've seen anything I've posted in the Mountains of Entertainment forum , you know I adore this man and his vision/ideas/thoughts/perspective.
Posted on Whedonopolis :
Whedon ’87 Delivers 181st Commencement Address
May. 26, 2013 by Lauren Rubenstein
Or is the Greater Good just a communist ideal and our individualism our strength?
Can we do more if we do it together, or alone?
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. ~Aristotle
Are we as a population capable of this in a great enough number to compromise on solutions and make life better, or have we become too entrenched in our own personal beliefs to do anything but dig in and self-destruct at this point?
:Thanks:
If you've seen anything I've posted in the Mountains of Entertainment forum , you know I adore this man and his vision/ideas/thoughts/perspective.
Posted on Whedonopolis :
(I smiled at that, and his comment that someone really should get Robert Frost's body off of the path less traveled-who else would dare say that at a college commencement address?)Today Joss received an honorary degree and delivered the commencement speech at his alma mater, Wesleyan University (class of '87). He starts out by telling everyone they're going to die. That's our Joss! -Salena
Whedon ’87 Delivers 181st Commencement Address
May. 26, 2013 by Lauren Rubenstein
Do you think that the tension between our connections is our greatest gift, or the fact that we have such tensions going to cause our downfall because we cannot overcome them to focus on the future and greater good?The thing about our country is—oh, it’s nice, I like it—it’s not long on contradiction or ambiguity. It likes things to be simple, it likes things to be pigeonholed—good or bad, black or white, blue or red. And we’re not that. We’re more interesting than that. And the way that we go into the world understanding is to have these contradictions in ourselves and see them in other people and not judge them for it. <snip> The only way really to understand your position and its worth is to understand the opposite. That doesn’t mean the crazy guy on the radio who is spewing hate, it means the decent human truths of all the people who feel the need to listen to that guy. You are connected to those people. They’re connected to him.
This connection is part of contradiction. It is the tension I was talking about. This tension isn’t about two opposite points, it’s about the line in between them, and it’s being stretched by them. We need to acknowledge and honor that tension, and the connection that that tension is a part of. Our connection not just to the people we love, but to everybody, including people we can’t stand and wish weren’t around. The connection we have is part of what defines us on such a basic level.
Freedom is not freedom from connection. Serial killing is freedom from connection. But we as people never do, and we’re not supposed to, and we shouldn’t want to.
Or is the Greater Good just a communist ideal and our individualism our strength?
Can we do more if we do it together, or alone?
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. ~Aristotle
Are we as a population capable of this in a great enough number to compromise on solutions and make life better, or have we become too entrenched in our own personal beliefs to do anything but dig in and self-destruct at this point?
:Thanks:
"Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.” -King T'Challa, Black Panther
The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. ~Winston Churchill
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28 May 2013 13:34 #6
by ScienceChic
"Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.” -King T'Challa, Black Panther
The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. ~Winston Churchill
Replied by ScienceChic on topic Contradictions, Connections, and Tension from Joss Whedon
Ok, so is there that huge of a difference between this:
and this:
The point of his speech was not a condemnation of certain large investment firms, it was about how we are all connected, whether we like it or not, and that those connections are a gift. I edited out the portion about investment firms and left the rest pertaining to humans. I do not believe that I changed the intent of his message in any way, and I specifically asked that everyone please read the entire speech so I wasn't trying to hide anything. If you want to nitpick that one line omission, fine by me but you are missing the point of the entire speech and ignoring my request at the beginning of the thread, and I thought you especially would appreciate the topic.
Anyone else have any thoughts?
Freedom is not freedom from connection. Serial killing is freedom from connection. Certain large investment firms have established freedom from connection. But we as people never do, and we’re not supposed to, and we shouldn’t want to. We are individuals, obviously, but we are more than that.
and this:
Freedom is not freedom from connection. Serial killing is freedom from connection. But we as people never do, and we’re not supposed to, and we shouldn’t want to.
The point of his speech was not a condemnation of certain large investment firms, it was about how we are all connected, whether we like it or not, and that those connections are a gift. I edited out the portion about investment firms and left the rest pertaining to humans. I do not believe that I changed the intent of his message in any way, and I specifically asked that everyone please read the entire speech so I wasn't trying to hide anything. If you want to nitpick that one line omission, fine by me but you are missing the point of the entire speech and ignoring my request at the beginning of the thread, and I thought you especially would appreciate the topic.
Anyone else have any thoughts?
"Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.” -King T'Challa, Black Panther
The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. ~Winston Churchill
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