Why Not?
We've been exploring Netflix lately, discovering movies and TV shows we've intended to watch but had forgotten as well as stumbling across things we never heard about before. It eats up some time, but it's a good use of those spare evenings when the work day has left you unwilling to stray too far from your couch and unable to put your mind to more creative work. "Veg"ging, it is. Sure. But, there's a lot of good stuff out there, and all that input is bound to spark ideas.
One show we particularly enjoyed was "Stephen Fry in America," a BBC series that (Surprise!) sent Stephen Fry touring the United States in 2008. I suppose there may be a few folks who are unfamiliar with Mr. Fry, and if you are one of them, I encourage you to seek out and sample his work. He is a witty, likeable, British actor- intelligent and from all indications, a genuinely nice guy. So, knowing this about him and being generally interested in how a stranger might view our cullture, we jumped in to watch his trek through all 50 states. I might add here that Mr. Fry has now seen more of my own country than I have, and I'm a little jealous, but at least I got to experience his adventure vicariously.
Now, to the point of this rambling introduction- over the course of the series, he mentioned more than once that Americans seemed to have an almost naive sense of possibility and enthusiasm about doing what they dream. Maybe this was flattery, something to counterbalance or explain some of the odd behaviour he encountered. There is a certain amount of weirdness we Americans engage in, and that is bound to make foreigners scratch their heads. (To be fair, I think the same could be said of every culture. Weirdness is a human condition.) However he meant it, I'm going to trust his powers of observation and take it in a positive light. Americans believe in things.
I've actually noticed this myself, though I figured it was part of general human nature. I've known people from all over the world, but Americans are the overwhelming majority of my acquaintances. They are my neighbours, family, coworkers, etc; the bulk of my data on what people do and how they think is from Americans. Since I have known plenty of pessimists, those who despaired and some who were unimaginative, I would never have said it was a defining American characteristic to have that sense of hope, but I have seen it in operation. There does tend to be an assumption that the answer to your questions is out there- that if you want it (whatever it is,) you can get it; you just have to figure out how. Everyone can win if they try hard enough. I've been there, myself. I'm always surprised, for example, when I go looking for a product to fulfill a need only to find that nobody sells it- nobody even makes it in the dimensions or with the qualities I need. Surely, if I need it now, someone has needed it before. When you grow up with a whole aisle in the supermarket devoted to an astounding variety of breakfast cereals, you tend to believe that everything you might want is similarly available. You may not have the means to get it, but it's out there somewhere.
Likewise, Americans are raised on happy endings. Fairy tales have been cleaned up. Children's movies all come out well for the hero. Nothing ends in tragedy. Tragedy is unsuitable for young minds, we suppose, and children should be shielded from such negative influences. It's not until we grow older and start exploring literature that we come across the idea of a hero enduring despite tragedy and grief (or, for that matter, a hero making a sacrifice that isn't magically made "all better" in the end.) Even so, Hollywood rarely serves up an unhappy ending in a movie for adults, just as it offers only happiness in children's fare. So, Americans develop the kind of unrealistic positivity that leads at least one Brit to comment on our enthusiasm for possibilities.
Is that all bad? I suppose there are worse things. There are even worse things one could point to in our national character that exist alongside that naive optimism. If it weren't for the unrealistic expectation of success, many would quit before they gave it a real try. It's a little like a tightrope walker who refuses to look down. He's going to make it across because, Why not? I think as a human quality, it's useful for our species to progress. We can't fail until we do; so we try, and we succeed. Ignoring the possibility of the unhappy ending means we can reach farther than we could if we were being cautious or sensible.
But being cautious and sensible have their place, too. However much we may tell ourselves that things will work out if we only believe, reality says we will fail sometimes. And it won't be because we didn't believe enough. It won't be because we didn't work hard, or didn't deserve success. It will be because sometimes, things just don't work out. The danger in blind optimism is in those inevitable crashes with reality. Suffering often comes when reality doesn't meet our expectations. If we "should" be able to and can't, we start to think there's something wrong with us.
Here we are, back at the idea that this is an element of human nature. Perhaps, it has been enhanced in American culture, but I think the struggle with positivity is something built into our genes. Mankind needs to go out in a dangerous world believing he can make things better for himself/ his tribe/ the world. Then, he must cope with his failures and try again. Pragmatism and a sort of practical positivity must temper the enthusiasm. It keeps us grounded. It helps us be OK when things don't work out. That's a kind of wisdom that comes with age and experience, and maybe other nations have a little more of that than we do. So right now, we have to work on developing our coping mechanisms and continue to believe we can make things happen because, Why not?
One show we particularly enjoyed was "Stephen Fry in America," a BBC series that (Surprise!) sent Stephen Fry touring the United States in 2008. I suppose there may be a few folks who are unfamiliar with Mr. Fry, and if you are one of them, I encourage you to seek out and sample his work. He is a witty, likeable, British actor- intelligent and from all indications, a genuinely nice guy. So, knowing this about him and being generally interested in how a stranger might view our cullture, we jumped in to watch his trek through all 50 states. I might add here that Mr. Fry has now seen more of my own country than I have, and I'm a little jealous, but at least I got to experience his adventure vicariously.
Now, to the point of this rambling introduction- over the course of the series, he mentioned more than once that Americans seemed to have an almost naive sense of possibility and enthusiasm about doing what they dream. Maybe this was flattery, something to counterbalance or explain some of the odd behaviour he encountered. There is a certain amount of weirdness we Americans engage in, and that is bound to make foreigners scratch their heads. (To be fair, I think the same could be said of every culture. Weirdness is a human condition.) However he meant it, I'm going to trust his powers of observation and take it in a positive light. Americans believe in things.
I've actually noticed this myself, though I figured it was part of general human nature. I've known people from all over the world, but Americans are the overwhelming majority of my acquaintances. They are my neighbours, family, coworkers, etc; the bulk of my data on what people do and how they think is from Americans. Since I have known plenty of pessimists, those who despaired and some who were unimaginative, I would never have said it was a defining American characteristic to have that sense of hope, but I have seen it in operation. There does tend to be an assumption that the answer to your questions is out there- that if you want it (whatever it is,) you can get it; you just have to figure out how. Everyone can win if they try hard enough. I've been there, myself. I'm always surprised, for example, when I go looking for a product to fulfill a need only to find that nobody sells it- nobody even makes it in the dimensions or with the qualities I need. Surely, if I need it now, someone has needed it before. When you grow up with a whole aisle in the supermarket devoted to an astounding variety of breakfast cereals, you tend to believe that everything you might want is similarly available. You may not have the means to get it, but it's out there somewhere.
Likewise, Americans are raised on happy endings. Fairy tales have been cleaned up. Children's movies all come out well for the hero. Nothing ends in tragedy. Tragedy is unsuitable for young minds, we suppose, and children should be shielded from such negative influences. It's not until we grow older and start exploring literature that we come across the idea of a hero enduring despite tragedy and grief (or, for that matter, a hero making a sacrifice that isn't magically made "all better" in the end.) Even so, Hollywood rarely serves up an unhappy ending in a movie for adults, just as it offers only happiness in children's fare. So, Americans develop the kind of unrealistic positivity that leads at least one Brit to comment on our enthusiasm for possibilities.
Is that all bad? I suppose there are worse things. There are even worse things one could point to in our national character that exist alongside that naive optimism. If it weren't for the unrealistic expectation of success, many would quit before they gave it a real try. It's a little like a tightrope walker who refuses to look down. He's going to make it across because, Why not? I think as a human quality, it's useful for our species to progress. We can't fail until we do; so we try, and we succeed. Ignoring the possibility of the unhappy ending means we can reach farther than we could if we were being cautious or sensible.
But being cautious and sensible have their place, too. However much we may tell ourselves that things will work out if we only believe, reality says we will fail sometimes. And it won't be because we didn't believe enough. It won't be because we didn't work hard, or didn't deserve success. It will be because sometimes, things just don't work out. The danger in blind optimism is in those inevitable crashes with reality. Suffering often comes when reality doesn't meet our expectations. If we "should" be able to and can't, we start to think there's something wrong with us.
Here we are, back at the idea that this is an element of human nature. Perhaps, it has been enhanced in American culture, but I think the struggle with positivity is something built into our genes. Mankind needs to go out in a dangerous world believing he can make things better for himself/ his tribe/ the world. Then, he must cope with his failures and try again. Pragmatism and a sort of practical positivity must temper the enthusiasm. It keeps us grounded. It helps us be OK when things don't work out. That's a kind of wisdom that comes with age and experience, and maybe other nations have a little more of that than we do. So right now, we have to work on developing our coping mechanisms and continue to believe we can make things happen because, Why not?
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