November 24^th, 2004

Yesterday I talked about the Safe World Theory. Since then I've had a couple more thoughts about it.

John Lennon's lyrics (Quoting Thoreau?) is about the first place I got a taste of an explanation of the Safe World Theory ... and it goes all the way back to the 1966 song, "She Said She Said":

She said
"I know what it's like to be dead
I know what it is to be sad"

That's pretty good, that. Considering it came just a year after "Run For Your Life" it points out that Lennon was thinking, always thinking.

* * *

I once used to think that having a traumatic or horrible experience gave a person instant character and respectability. Well, it doesn't. Certainly, there are people who have had to live through absolutely awful conditions and episodes, extraordinary circumstances, and have grown a lot of character as a result of it--the closest person to me in my life would be my father, who went through hell and back during WWII--but there are just as many people who have used the hardship in their lives as an excuse to further their own agendas, or somehow paint themselves in a certain sympathy-extorting light.

That ain't character.

But: "I'm sorry something awful happened to you; how can I genuinely help?"

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