Just had to share this with you all - something for the heart and mind!
Louise Robbins
Isn't it amazing that George Carlin - mouthy comedian of the 70's,
80's and 90's - could write something so very eloquent ... and so
very appropriate post 9-11. A wonderful Message by George Carlin:
The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings
but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We
spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have
bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less
time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less
judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less
wellness.
We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too
little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too
tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We
have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too
much, love too seldom, and hate too often.
We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added
years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon
and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new
neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done
larger things, but not better things.
We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul.. We've conquered
the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We
plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to
wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce
more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.
These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and
small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are
the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken
homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway
morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do
everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is
much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time
when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you
can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete.
Remember, spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not
going to be around forever. Remember, say a kind word to someone who
looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up
and leave your side. Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to
you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart
and it doesn't cost a cent.
Remember, to say, "I love you" to your partner and your loved ones,
but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when
it comes from deep inside of you. Remember to hold hands and cherish
the moment for someday that person will not be there again. Give
time to love, give time to speak, and give time to share the
precious thoughts in your mind.
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the
moments that take our breath away.
Thanks for your welcome!
Louise
80's and 90's - could write something so very eloquent ... and so
very appropriate post 9-11. A wonderful Message by George Carlin:
The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings
but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We
spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have
bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less
time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less
judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less
wellness.
We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too
little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too
tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We
have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too
much, love too seldom, and hate too often.
We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added
years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon
and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new
neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done
larger things, but not better things.
We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul.. We've conquered
the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We
plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to
wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce
more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.
These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and
small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are
the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken
homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway
morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do
everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is
much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time
when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you
can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete.
Remember, spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not
going to be around forever. Remember, say a kind word to someone who
looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up
and leave your side. Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to
you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart
and it doesn't cost a cent.
Remember, to say, "I love you" to your partner and your loved ones,
but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when
it comes from deep inside of you. Remember to hold hands and cherish
the moment for someday that person will not be there again. Give
time to love, give time to speak, and give time to share the
precious thoughts in your mind.
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the
moments that take our breath away.
Thanks for your welcome!
Louise
Fetteroll
on 1/28/04 2:59 PM, Louise Robbins at loueliandguy@... wrote:
he didn't write it.
A great place to check out urban legends is http://www.snopes.com
(If you go to the original you can click on the links
http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/paradox.asp) (If you read down past
the original, it mentions what an inspiring kind of guy the original author
was.)
Here's what Snopes has to say:
===========================
Origins: In May 1998, Jeff Dickson posted the 'Paradox of Our Time' essay
to his Hacks-R-Us online forum, loosing it upon the Internet. The essay has
since been attributed to comedian George Carlin, an unnamed Columbine High
School student, and that most prolific of scribes, Anonymous.
George Carlin very emphatically denied he had had anything to do with
"Paradox," a piece he referred to as "a sappy load of shit," and posted his
comments about being associated with this essay on his own web site.
The true author of the piece is neither George Carlin nor Jeff Dickson, nor
is he anonymous. Credit belongs with Dr. Bob Moorehead, former pastor of
Seattle's Overlake Christian Church. (He retired in 1998 after 29 years in
that post). The essay appeared under the title "The Paradox of Our Age" in
Words Aptly Spoken, Dr. Moorehead's 1995 collection of prayers, homilies,
and monologues used in his sermons and radio broadcasts:
The Paradox of Our Age
following: during Bob Moorehead's tenure as pastor of Overlake Christian
Church, seventeen members of his congregation reported that he had sexually
assaulted them. These allegations, which surfaced in 1997, prompted his
resignation in 1998. After a year of publicly supporting Moorehead the
church elders withdrew their support, their own investigation into the
charges having led them to conclude their pastor had indeed been guilty of
molesting a number of male churchgoers.
Its true authorship aside, the piece picked up its attribution to an unnamed
student who witnessed the killings at Littleton in the aftermath of 20 April
1999, while America was still struggling to make sense of that day's
horrific events. The killings at Columbine shook us deeply, leaving behind a
nation of survivors looking for the one set of answers which could begin to
explain the horrifically inexplicable. Having this essay flow from the pen
of an unnamed student who bore witness to this unspeakable act of violence
made sense surely such a teen would have valuable words of wisdom or
cautions we all should heed. The oft-repeated header "A Columbine High
School student wrote" infused the essay with the significance and meaning
folks thirsted for. (This belief that witnessing a tragedy or losing a loved
one imbues a person with special insight into the causes and cures of
society's ills also fuels the Internet version of the testimony given before
the House judiciary committee by Darrell Scott, father of Rachel Scott, one
of the teens murdered at Columbine High School.)
It felt right that this essay emerge from the horror that was the Columbine
massacre. Certainly someone somewhere had to be able to make sense of all
this. Certainly some good, some protection against future acts of random
insanity, had to come out of all this grief and loss, else what had it all
been for? Yet that was not the case. The essay which has come to be called
"The Paradox of Our Time" was written at least four years before the
killings in Littleton, Colorado. There was no association between the essay
and the shootings, though many felt at least momentarily comforted by the
notion that there had been.
We like pieces such as "The Paradox of Our Time" because they summarize all
the problems of modern society into a neat laundry list of "What Has Gone
Wrong" while presenting possible solutions by way of juxtaposition. The
pairing of "We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values," for
example, implies that increased affluence is responsible for a decline in
morality and carries the underlying implication that if we turn our backs on
the almighty dollar, our kids will no longer murder one another.
Clear-cut cause-and-effect pairings provide far more comfort than does
accepting the harsh reality that we live in a world of no assurances at all,
a world where bad things can happen at any moment, to anyone, for no
discernable (and thus no preventable) reason. Our ancestors coped with that
feeling of powerlessness by inventing myths about petty, lust-filled,
vengeful gods who, even if they were capricious in their actions and
insensible to the human misery their warring caused, were at least tangible
entities who could be identified as the cause of otherwise unfathomable
catastrophes. Our sophistication has loosed us from our belief in those
myths, leaving us vulnerable to a sense of a world careening out of control.
Barbara "chaos theory" Mikkelson
Last updated: 30 May 2003
===========================
Joyce
> Isn't it amazing that George Carlin - mouthy comedian of the 70's,That's been circulating for a long time with George Carlin's name on it. But
> 80's and 90's - could write something so very eloquent ... and so
> very appropriate post 9-11. A wonderful Message by George Carlin:
he didn't write it.
A great place to check out urban legends is http://www.snopes.com
(If you go to the original you can click on the links
http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/paradox.asp) (If you read down past
the original, it mentions what an inspiring kind of guy the original author
was.)
Here's what Snopes has to say:
===========================
Origins: In May 1998, Jeff Dickson posted the 'Paradox of Our Time' essay
to his Hacks-R-Us online forum, loosing it upon the Internet. The essay has
since been attributed to comedian George Carlin, an unnamed Columbine High
School student, and that most prolific of scribes, Anonymous.
George Carlin very emphatically denied he had had anything to do with
"Paradox," a piece he referred to as "a sappy load of shit," and posted his
comments about being associated with this essay on his own web site.
The true author of the piece is neither George Carlin nor Jeff Dickson, nor
is he anonymous. Credit belongs with Dr. Bob Moorehead, former pastor of
Seattle's Overlake Christian Church. (He retired in 1998 after 29 years in
that post). The essay appeared under the title "The Paradox of Our Age" in
Words Aptly Spoken, Dr. Moorehead's 1995 collection of prayers, homilies,
and monologues used in his sermons and radio broadcasts:
The Paradox of Our Age
> We have taller buildings but shorter tempers; wider freeways but narrowerThose intent upon taking inspiration from "Paradox" should consider the
> viewpoints; we spend more but have less; we buy more but enjoy it less; we
> have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, yet less time; we
> have more degrees but less sense; more knowledge but less judgement; more
> experts, yet more problems; we have more gadgets but less satisfaction; more
> medicine, yet less wellness; we take more vitamins but see fewer results. We
> drink too much; smoke too much; spend too recklessly; laugh too little; drive
> too fast; get too angry quickly; stay up too late; get up too tired; read too
> seldom; watch TV too much and pray too seldom.
> We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values; we fly in faster
> planes to arrive there quicker, to do less and return sooner; we sign more
> contracts only to realize fewer profits; we talk too much; love too seldom and
> lie too often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life; we've added
> years to life, not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back,
> but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor. We've conquered
> outer space, but not inner space; we've done larger things, but not better
> things; we've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul; we've split the atom,
> but not our prejudice; we write more, but learn less; plan more, but
> accomplish less; we make faster planes, but longer lines; we learned to rush,
> but not to wait; we have more weapons, but less peace; higher incomes, but
> lower morals; more parties, but less fun; more food, but less appeasement;
> more acquaintances, but fewer friends; more effort, but less success. We build
> more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but
> have less communication; drive smaller cars that have bigger problems; build
> larger factories that produce less. We've become long on quantity, but short
> on quality.
> These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; tall men, but short
> character; steep in profits, but shallow relationships. These are times of
> world peace, but domestic warfare; more leisure and less fun; higher postage,
> but slower mail; more kinds of food, but less nutrition. These are days of two
> incomes, but more divorces; these are times of fancier houses, but broken
> homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, cartridge living,
> thow-away morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies and pills that do
> everything from cheer, to prevent, quiet or kill. It is a time when there is
> much in the show window and nothing in the stock room. Indeed, these are the
> times!
following: during Bob Moorehead's tenure as pastor of Overlake Christian
Church, seventeen members of his congregation reported that he had sexually
assaulted them. These allegations, which surfaced in 1997, prompted his
resignation in 1998. After a year of publicly supporting Moorehead the
church elders withdrew their support, their own investigation into the
charges having led them to conclude their pastor had indeed been guilty of
molesting a number of male churchgoers.
Its true authorship aside, the piece picked up its attribution to an unnamed
student who witnessed the killings at Littleton in the aftermath of 20 April
1999, while America was still struggling to make sense of that day's
horrific events. The killings at Columbine shook us deeply, leaving behind a
nation of survivors looking for the one set of answers which could begin to
explain the horrifically inexplicable. Having this essay flow from the pen
of an unnamed student who bore witness to this unspeakable act of violence
made sense surely such a teen would have valuable words of wisdom or
cautions we all should heed. The oft-repeated header "A Columbine High
School student wrote" infused the essay with the significance and meaning
folks thirsted for. (This belief that witnessing a tragedy or losing a loved
one imbues a person with special insight into the causes and cures of
society's ills also fuels the Internet version of the testimony given before
the House judiciary committee by Darrell Scott, father of Rachel Scott, one
of the teens murdered at Columbine High School.)
It felt right that this essay emerge from the horror that was the Columbine
massacre. Certainly someone somewhere had to be able to make sense of all
this. Certainly some good, some protection against future acts of random
insanity, had to come out of all this grief and loss, else what had it all
been for? Yet that was not the case. The essay which has come to be called
"The Paradox of Our Time" was written at least four years before the
killings in Littleton, Colorado. There was no association between the essay
and the shootings, though many felt at least momentarily comforted by the
notion that there had been.
We like pieces such as "The Paradox of Our Time" because they summarize all
the problems of modern society into a neat laundry list of "What Has Gone
Wrong" while presenting possible solutions by way of juxtaposition. The
pairing of "We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values," for
example, implies that increased affluence is responsible for a decline in
morality and carries the underlying implication that if we turn our backs on
the almighty dollar, our kids will no longer murder one another.
Clear-cut cause-and-effect pairings provide far more comfort than does
accepting the harsh reality that we live in a world of no assurances at all,
a world where bad things can happen at any moment, to anyone, for no
discernable (and thus no preventable) reason. Our ancestors coped with that
feeling of powerlessness by inventing myths about petty, lust-filled,
vengeful gods who, even if they were capricious in their actions and
insensible to the human misery their warring caused, were at least tangible
entities who could be identified as the cause of otherwise unfathomable
catastrophes. Our sophistication has loosed us from our belief in those
myths, leaving us vulnerable to a sense of a world careening out of control.
Barbara "chaos theory" Mikkelson
Last updated: 30 May 2003
===========================
Joyce
Fetteroll
on 1/29/04 4:21 AM, Fetteroll at fetteroll@... wrote:
about The Paradox of Our Time. (Warning, contains some of seven words you
can never (or used to not be able to! ;-) say on television. BTW he now has
2443 dirty words collected at his website to expand on those initial 7.)
> (If you go to the original you can click on the linksI clicked on the link to George Carlin's site and here's what he has to say
> http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/paradox.asp)
about The Paradox of Our Time. (Warning, contains some of seven words you
can never (or used to not be able to! ;-) say on television. BTW he now has
2443 dirty words collected at his website to expand on those initial 7.)
> "PARADOX OF OUR TIME"Joyce
> One of the more embarrassing items making the internet/e-mail rounds is a
> sappy load of shit called "The Paradox of Our Time." The main problem I have
> with it is that as true as some of the expressed sentiments may be, who really
> gives a shit? Certainly not me.
>
> I figured out years ago that the human species is totally fucked and has been
> for a long time. I also know that the sick, media-consumer culture in America
> continues to make this so-called problem worse. But the trick, folks, is not
> to give a fuck. Like me. I really don't care. I stopped worrying about all
> this temporal bullshit a long time ago. It's meaningless. (See the preface of
> "Braindroppings.")
>
> Another problem I have with "Paradox" is that the ideas are all expressed in a
> sort of pseudo-spiritual, New-Age-y, "Gee-whiz-can't-we-do-better-than-this"
> tone of voice. It's not only bad prose and poetry, it's weak philosophy. I
> hope I never sound like that.