Weekly Writing Prompt No. 72. I have thought long and hard about publishing this particular prompt, it’s been several months in cogitation and reflection wondering how to write it, or even if I should write it. Ultimately, I decided I would; not because I want to start an argument, but because I believe that critical thinking is one of the skills we seem to have laid by the wayside of life in recent years.
I'm behind on here - partly because I've been off enjoying myself, partly because I came back and my body had words to say about all that hedonism and pulled me up short, and partly because I want to answer all of those questions. I want to answer them honestly and with critical thinking. I want to answer them with nuance and truth and to the limit of my ability. And there is not space here for that.
I understand why you would stand back from your own opinion and phrase the questions accordingly, for a writing prompt, but at the same time... Hmmm. Only when we are willing to openly share our "answers" to questions, knowing that they are only opinions, limited by how much we know, what we have experienced and all the rest, and willing to listen to others do likewise, are we likely to move forward. The most effective censorship in the world is the 'what others think' effect - we will silence ourselves long before our slave-masters do.
What right have we to call ourselves writers if we are not willing to offend? Not wanting to start an argument. Not wanting to create "an atmosphere". Is that not definition of preferring to be silenced?
Hi Lesley and thanks for calling me out on this. I hadn't thought of it in that way and you're right, it is often easiest to self-censor and to inadvertently effectively censor others by only asking and never answering questions.
I apologise for any frustration or annoyance caused by my lack of doing so in this particular post, it wasn't intentional as I assumed I had already made many of my opinions clear in previous posts and essays.
I also assumed people wouldn't want to hear them yet again! I often wonder if I'm just odd, I know that some friends roll their eyes when 'I get started' as they put it.
The first three essays outlined some of my feelings about a few of the questions and I do have more up my sleeve if I can ever get around to actually writing the flippin' things :-)
No frustration or annoyance at all. No apology required. Just a contrary opinion from my side.
~
"Getting started" is a sign of genuine belief and passion - and maybe we need to be careful of how often we subject our friends to it - or equally, maybe they should question why it upsets them so much. (Note to self! )
~
I don't wonder if I'm odd. I hope so. One of the joys of ageing is the ability to care less about those who can't handle your opinions with grace and curiosity. One of the struggles (of course) is being able to return the favour.
Do you wear purple too - or have you opted for polka dot pink and yellow? I find I'm moving towards a more nuanced understanding of life, albeit slowly and in fits and starts. You helped enormously in that journey with your comments by the way, so thank you :-)
Only in the metaphorical sense. There's a lot of blue, and black, (which isn't the same as black & blue). There's a lot of white. There are gig t-shirts, and long skirts, flouncy frocks and garden-stained shorts. And there are the boxes full of stuff I'm slowly shrinking my way back into.
The questions we wrestle with daily colour our opinions and our lives. It seems the question here is between fact and fiction; how much honesty should we employ? And how much are we really interested in knowing? Do we ever walk in truth, or is life a story we tell ourselves to cover the darkest moments of existence and make our tiny Jay the hero to give us hope?
And I suppose it's hard to determine what exactly is a 'fact' and how 'fiction' contributes to it's understanding, dissemination and even it's acceptance.
Last week I went to see a wildlife film at the Kinema in the Woods (Woodhall Spa, Lincs.), “Heart of an Oak”, a French film by Laurent Chabonnier and Michel Seydoux. It was beautiful, moving and in places quite exciting, though I did wonder about the film makers and the dilemmas they must have faced during production. Should they be true to nature or true to their narrative? Is it more important to educate or entertain? Can you do both when your subject is reality and the world contains prey as well as predators?
There were several sequences where smaller animals fled from larger ones, including an amazing chase where a tiny jay fled from a goshawk. The audience were all on the same side: we had lived through this little one’s romance, nest building and sitting with his mate in the pouring rain. Had the goshawk caught him… Well, would the truth have got in the way of the audience’s appreciation? Could it have cost the cinematographers in terms of repeat viewings and recommendations?
Yet… I sit here thinking we saw the squirrel but not her young. Was that because something went wrong? We saw field mice rescuing each other out of tunnels between roots flooded in a storm. Did none of them drown? The goshawk, the owl, the fox, the wild boar… Did they and their young all go hungry?
It seems to me avoiding facing the truth, taking the “popular”, “easy” way out of every dilemma on every occasion can in the end lead to a feeling of there being something missing.
Life is a kaleidoscope of many different colours Denarii, as you quite rightly point out. Mostly I've noticed our culture seems to prefer black and white, with perhaps the occasional shade of grey.
Jim stared at me and muttered. "Why won't you buy an electric car. You could save on fuel."
" It's not much of a saving, when my old car is still ok" I replied.
"It's unreliable uncle. You could buy a second hand all electric car. Charge it at home and know there is nothing to go wrong."
"My old diesel car has done 100 thousand miles and most people know that a diesel engine is good for about 200 thousand. Can you tell me how many miles will be left in the battery of a second hand electric car?"
"What if we have a power cut and I can't charge it."
"If there is a power cut, you won't be able to buy diesel for your car either." Jim laughed.
"That's where you are wrong Jim. I have cash in the house and if the internet goes down I can still buy fuel and of course food."
"That's a very old way of thinking Uncle" said Jim begrudgingly.
"Jim. I have been around a long time. We had power cuts in the 70s and lost power on a rotation basis.
The thing is that back then computers didn't control anything much. Now that they do. If we all just use credit cards and electric cars. When the power goes off. We can't go anywhere, buy anything or even call anyone. It would be too late to go to the bank and withdraw money if they haven't got power either. Don't you realise without cash. The state can control what you have and where you go. For every pound you spend on your card. The shop pays a fee to the bank for the machine. It is in the banks interest to get rid of cash."
"I think you are a paranoid old man" laughed Jim. "We will see"
I'm behind on here - partly because I've been off enjoying myself, partly because I came back and my body had words to say about all that hedonism and pulled me up short, and partly because I want to answer all of those questions. I want to answer them honestly and with critical thinking. I want to answer them with nuance and truth and to the limit of my ability. And there is not space here for that.
I understand why you would stand back from your own opinion and phrase the questions accordingly, for a writing prompt, but at the same time... Hmmm. Only when we are willing to openly share our "answers" to questions, knowing that they are only opinions, limited by how much we know, what we have experienced and all the rest, and willing to listen to others do likewise, are we likely to move forward. The most effective censorship in the world is the 'what others think' effect - we will silence ourselves long before our slave-masters do.
What right have we to call ourselves writers if we are not willing to offend? Not wanting to start an argument. Not wanting to create "an atmosphere". Is that not definition of preferring to be silenced?
Hi Lesley and thanks for calling me out on this. I hadn't thought of it in that way and you're right, it is often easiest to self-censor and to inadvertently effectively censor others by only asking and never answering questions.
I apologise for any frustration or annoyance caused by my lack of doing so in this particular post, it wasn't intentional as I assumed I had already made many of my opinions clear in previous posts and essays.
I also assumed people wouldn't want to hear them yet again! I often wonder if I'm just odd, I know that some friends roll their eyes when 'I get started' as they put it.
The first three essays outlined some of my feelings about a few of the questions and I do have more up my sleeve if I can ever get around to actually writing the flippin' things :-)
No frustration or annoyance at all. No apology required. Just a contrary opinion from my side.
~
"Getting started" is a sign of genuine belief and passion - and maybe we need to be careful of how often we subject our friends to it - or equally, maybe they should question why it upsets them so much. (Note to self! )
~
I don't wonder if I'm odd. I hope so. One of the joys of ageing is the ability to care less about those who can't handle your opinions with grace and curiosity. One of the struggles (of course) is being able to return the favour.
Do you wear purple too - or have you opted for polka dot pink and yellow? I find I'm moving towards a more nuanced understanding of life, albeit slowly and in fits and starts. You helped enormously in that journey with your comments by the way, so thank you :-)
Only in the metaphorical sense. There's a lot of blue, and black, (which isn't the same as black & blue). There's a lot of white. There are gig t-shirts, and long skirts, flouncy frocks and garden-stained shorts. And there are the boxes full of stuff I'm slowly shrinking my way back into.
The questions we wrestle with daily colour our opinions and our lives. It seems the question here is between fact and fiction; how much honesty should we employ? And how much are we really interested in knowing? Do we ever walk in truth, or is life a story we tell ourselves to cover the darkest moments of existence and make our tiny Jay the hero to give us hope?
Interesting questions, Denarii.
And I suppose it's hard to determine what exactly is a 'fact' and how 'fiction' contributes to it's understanding, dissemination and even it's acceptance.
Yes, I guess 'it all depends ' covers a multitude of those contributions!
Last week I went to see a wildlife film at the Kinema in the Woods (Woodhall Spa, Lincs.), “Heart of an Oak”, a French film by Laurent Chabonnier and Michel Seydoux. It was beautiful, moving and in places quite exciting, though I did wonder about the film makers and the dilemmas they must have faced during production. Should they be true to nature or true to their narrative? Is it more important to educate or entertain? Can you do both when your subject is reality and the world contains prey as well as predators?
There were several sequences where smaller animals fled from larger ones, including an amazing chase where a tiny jay fled from a goshawk. The audience were all on the same side: we had lived through this little one’s romance, nest building and sitting with his mate in the pouring rain. Had the goshawk caught him… Well, would the truth have got in the way of the audience’s appreciation? Could it have cost the cinematographers in terms of repeat viewings and recommendations?
Yet… I sit here thinking we saw the squirrel but not her young. Was that because something went wrong? We saw field mice rescuing each other out of tunnels between roots flooded in a storm. Did none of them drown? The goshawk, the owl, the fox, the wild boar… Did they and their young all go hungry?
It seems to me avoiding facing the truth, taking the “popular”, “easy” way out of every dilemma on every occasion can in the end lead to a feeling of there being something missing.
A taste of saccharine instead of honey?
Life is a kaleidoscope of many different colours Denarii, as you quite rightly point out. Mostly I've noticed our culture seems to prefer black and white, with perhaps the occasional shade of grey.
Jim stared at me and muttered. "Why won't you buy an electric car. You could save on fuel."
" It's not much of a saving, when my old car is still ok" I replied.
"It's unreliable uncle. You could buy a second hand all electric car. Charge it at home and know there is nothing to go wrong."
"My old diesel car has done 100 thousand miles and most people know that a diesel engine is good for about 200 thousand. Can you tell me how many miles will be left in the battery of a second hand electric car?"
"What if we have a power cut and I can't charge it."
"If there is a power cut, you won't be able to buy diesel for your car either." Jim laughed.
"That's where you are wrong Jim. I have cash in the house and if the internet goes down I can still buy fuel and of course food."
"That's a very old way of thinking Uncle" said Jim begrudgingly.
"Jim. I have been around a long time. We had power cuts in the 70s and lost power on a rotation basis.
The thing is that back then computers didn't control anything much. Now that they do. If we all just use credit cards and electric cars. When the power goes off. We can't go anywhere, buy anything or even call anyone. It would be too late to go to the bank and withdraw money if they haven't got power either. Don't you realise without cash. The state can control what you have and where you go. For every pound you spend on your card. The shop pays a fee to the bank for the machine. It is in the banks interest to get rid of cash."
"I think you are a paranoid old man" laughed Jim. "We will see"
And there in truth is spoken Arthur - it's all in understanding how actions create reactions that are often unnoticed, unplanned and unwanted!