- Sigmund Freud
Freud suddenly wore glasses and looked slightly sad. "We have reached the letter I, Roland. Quickly, what occurs to you?"
"Me."
He sighed, "I cannot believe I am about to say this, but I wish you would be more like Lewis and less like Twain."
"Doctor, I mean it. You say "I" and I think of Me as in the 'Me Generation'."
He took off his glasses and massaged the bridge of his nose.
"Young Man, it has always been the 'Me Generation.'"
"But not like now.
It is now possible to hire, yes, hire your own private paparazzi to follow you around, taking photographs of you wherever you go one night.
You even get a faux celebrity magazine with you on the cover and more pictures of you on the inside."
Freud slowly shook his head. "What starved, stunted personalities they must be."
I nodded.
"Worse, high school students beat a detested classmate to pulp and then post video's of the beating on YouTube."
"You Tube?"
"A worldwide video access for the bored."
"You are saying there is a relentless rise in narcissism in your culture?"
Mark Twain slid into the chair beside me.
"Tell the old coot of that Kim Kardashian gal pasting pictures of her naked self for the all world to see ... with nary a pasty to be seen."
Freud gave Twain a look that should have left welts, and then turned to me.
"It would appear that you are living in changing times, an era of a poorly studied morality shift ... much like I did in Nazi-dominated Vienna."
"What do you suggest I do, Doctor?"
"Be unlike my four sisters ... survive."
I sighed, "Well, this brings us to J."
Freud looked past my shoulder. "Excuse me. I must be leaving."
Mark looked in the same direction and wryly smiled, "Of course he does."
Hi Roland ... so sadly we are in that generation of the "I" and more "I" way of life ... and no thought for the others ... take care - cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteYes, more it is becoming more "I" and less US". :-(
DeleteLook beyond the "I" and "C" the world... "U" will get this much later...
ReplyDeleteVery Nice Post... but you know that, that's why you posted it! Right!
Welcome in the letter "I"... thank you!
Jeremy [Retro]
AtoZ Challenge Co-Host [2016]
Stop over and find a free "SIX STRINGS: BLOGGING AtoZ CHALLENGE" Here: http://www.jmhdigital.com/
HOLLYWOOD NUTS!
You know you want to know if me or Hollywood... is Nuts?
LOL. Yes, the world sees us much more clearly than we imagine!!
DeleteI like that first quote. The world is a changing and not in a good way. However, I think people have been "I" and "me first" people all along. It's just that society lets it all hang out more these days.
ReplyDeleteSadly as technology grows, so does the number of ways we can pander to the things that in the end will destroy us.
DeleteFreud's right. We are egotistical beings. It seems that the happiest of humans, though, are the ones who think of others.
ReplyDeleteMary at Play off the Page
I believe you are right, Mary, and try to live accordingly as I am sure you do. Sadly, I believe we are in the minority. :-(
DeleteAnd if you take a look at some of today's favorite books, guess what POV they're written in?
ReplyDeleteI find 1st person draws the reader into the flow of the story better. Like a prose selfie! :-)
DeleteGreat post. I giggled in parts, frowned thoughfully in parts. Loving these conversations. Keep them coming :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nicola. :-) These ghosts make my posts easier! (They made me say that!)
DeleteYou can hire people to make it look like you're somebody? Where were those people when I was a nobody in high school?
ReplyDeleteI imagine they cost a lot of money -- and if you and I had had that kind of money, we would have been more "popular!"
Delete...a look that should have left welts... brilliant!
ReplyDeleteSusan A Eames from
Travel, Fiction and Photos
I'm glad you liked my phrase! :-)
DeleteIt's all about the self now instead of others. Just look at the rise in "selfies."
ReplyDeleteSelfies -- the very name sounds narcissistic, doesn't it? :-(
DeleteAnd it bugs me to see photos of people in front of the monuments, as in 'I was here'. I want to see the object not the people. . .Very nice, Roland, and I think I know what your letter J might be. . .just guessing.
ReplyDeleteI bet your guess is right. :-)
DeletePeople are so ME oriented that it inflates their sense of self and entitlement -- I saw that a few times at the Con -- but the children brightened the days for me!
"a look that should have left welts" Brilliant! Great post, love the conversation with ghosts :-) Good luck with the rest of the AtoZchallenge.
ReplyDeletePlease visit again. You do not want to miss tomorrow! :-)
DeleteI echo other commenters' praise when they point out the "should have left welts" description. And yes, the rise of selfies and the I'm special mentality is not doing the human race any good.
ReplyDeleteSorry, Roland, that I haven't stopped by for a few days--I was out of town, out of touch, and it was good to get away. But I missed my blogging friends like you.
The constant obsession with selfies and cell phones drives me crazy. I'm waiting for the backlash...hope it happens.
ReplyDelete