Letting It Be

ANYONE BRAVE ENOUGH to attempt an intelligent conversation with an american lately has perhaps noticed some obstacles impeding the endeavor. Foremost among these is perhaps the wonderful cell phone,, which i dreamed of having when i was a child, but now almost wish i hadn't.

A social protocol has emerged along with cell phone ubiquity, in which one must apolgize when one's phone rings, and explain "I have to take this, sorry." And that's good enough. We're not quite willing to go whole hog and ban call acceptance, etiquette - wise, while involved in face to face conersation. That leap could still come later.

In america, there is an increased tendency to talk over, talk past, talk through, instead of talking to, talking with. The stage goes to the quickest, and the loudest. Conversation as a competitive enterprise, rather than a cooperative one.

There is no shortage of intelligence, anywhere. You can't swing a dead cat without hitting a brilliant, talented, interesting person. That's the problem; we're all just too danged interesting, and full of thoughts, which must be expressed, above all else, for the good of all.

What we have here is a failure to communicate, as the movie clip goes. Maybe a bit too much remote control mentality, too many on and off switches, too much perception of personal power, and the urge to exercise it.  Entitlement mentality.

Guilty as charged here. Maybe being interrupted in the middle of a profound narrative by someone else's cell phone is not such a great insult, and not so tragic after all. It may even be that the world can live without this immediate particular insight. Like, let it be, baby.

Obligatory listening, and acceding to the inevitability of never being quite able to share all one's thoughts, of limited communication, and the need for restraint and discipline, for cooperating and taking turns, might be worth considering. Let it be, as the song goes.