Y'dig?

photo courtesy of Ray Harris

Listened to a fabulous podcast yesterday on the subject of Metaphor, one of the BBC’s In Our Time series. It deals with the power of metaphor, when did it emerge as a literary form, how did it evolve over the ages?  One of the reasons why, after sixteen years of marriage, I am still utterly enthralled by my wife is that she always surprises me with the insights she’ll come out with, her way of thinking, so different from any way of thinking I’ve ever encountered previously.

Yesterday, she was talking about how she loves the first signs of Spring and in particular the first snowdrops. I asked her what metaphors come to mind and she said innocence and their worship of the Mother Earth, that their beauty if directly solely downwards and only the earth can see it.

Matthew 18:20

“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

Susan Boyle

Spector with unknown rock musician

Two news items today. Phil Spector, guity of second degree murder, a man who, according to testimony offered in court, previously in rages, put guns into the mouths of six other women. And Susan Boyle, unemployed, aged 47, from a village in Scotland, sang on a British talent contest and has since been watched by 2.7 million people on youtube.com:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

What a difference.

http://dagadtrikon.com/quotes.shtml

North Americans do not have a developed sense of irony. (The Australian writer and humorist, Kathy Lette, noted that“Americans are suffer from an‘irony deficiency”’.)

Yesterday, in my dog-run in Seton Park, Bronx, Liz, a wise psychologist and owner of a wonderful dog called Charlie, said when asked about this that a sense of the double meaning in words doesn’t arise in children until the age of 8 or later and that, in her view, this non-undertanding of irony in many Americans might be seen as a sign of arrested development.

I posited that it might be more to do with an absence of cynicism and a much greater openness to possibilites – which is one measure of innocence.

When I came to work here, there was a noticeable willingness to try new things which is not present in much of Europe. When presented with a new idea, Europeans would either categorically say “that would never work” or ” we tried that X years ago and it didn’t work.” Americans would be more likely to scratch their heads and say, “Gee, I don’t know – but let’s give it a try and see.”

My online dictionary defines ‘innocence’ as: the absebce if guilt, or lack of guile or corruption, or purity.

Many Europeans I have spoken to regard ‘innocence’ as a bad or negative thing, something to be gotten rid of as soon as possible, but it isn’t, it’s a very powerful, positive quality.

Look at how innocent young babies are, human or animal, and how the vast majority of people relate positively to them.