Simple Sagebrush #5
"He didn't look like a genius, he looked more like the quiet, thoughtful friend we all turn to with our questions."
"They're mostly full of bull. Listen, I know you're watching this wirecast because you expect to meet the man these reviewers have been raving about. 'The first public interview ever! Meet the Genius behind these words we all know by heart!' Advertisers- they make it sound like I'm about to give birth or grow a second head, all on intercontinental wire. Is that why you're tuning in?
"Or perhaps you're hoping for some revelation of a deep dark secret that will forever discredit me. A double life, or, Gods forbid, an opposite-sex attraction. That's not what you're going to get. You're also not going to be getting an impassioned declaration of disagreement or agreement with - well - insert your favorite social issue here. Still interested?
"The wire writers started calling me 'genius' five years ago - and through no fault of my own, may I point out. I despise the term. Too overblown, too self-important for my line of work. By calling me a 'genius' you're asking me to fulfill your expectations, to be everything you expect a genius to be. I don't 'save relationships' 'change lives' or 'speak to the soul of a generation.' Those are all words that have been crammed onto dust jackets and into introductions by overenthusiastic editors and mistaken intellectual suitors.
"The man you are all calling is genius is truly nothing more than a shell you're pouring your own hopes, dreams, and expectations into. You call me a genius because you think these ideas are mine, and you think they are better than yours. That these ideas haven't been hashed and rehashed a thousand time by academics, drunks, and thousands of people just like you.
"Don't get me wrong. I believe everything I wrote in those books. You've studied them, maybe made your own notes in the margins, even taken the class. What you've all missed, though, is the point. You think that one critically-proclaimed 'genius' is going to give you the answers about life, love, and philosophy you've been looking for.
"Fine. Here's the big revelation. I don't know. I'm as clueless as you. You may very well have the idea that proves me wrong - and you're probably right. So quit listening to me. Quit calling me a 'genius.' The only idea I've been espousing this entire time is that you need to start thinking for yourselves.
"The label of 'genius' is nothing more than your way of convincing yourselves it's OK, it's 'justifiable' to find yourself somehow inferior. Of course I don't 'look like a genius.' No more than you. Quit talking yourself down, using this word to tell yourself I'm somehow better. The simple truth is, you need to shut the hell up. Look inside and meet the genius you are.
"I look forward to being personally introduced."
"They're mostly full of bull. Listen, I know you're watching this wirecast because you expect to meet the man these reviewers have been raving about. 'The first public interview ever! Meet the Genius behind these words we all know by heart!' Advertisers- they make it sound like I'm about to give birth or grow a second head, all on intercontinental wire. Is that why you're tuning in?
"Or perhaps you're hoping for some revelation of a deep dark secret that will forever discredit me. A double life, or, Gods forbid, an opposite-sex attraction. That's not what you're going to get. You're also not going to be getting an impassioned declaration of disagreement or agreement with - well - insert your favorite social issue here. Still interested?
"The wire writers started calling me 'genius' five years ago - and through no fault of my own, may I point out. I despise the term. Too overblown, too self-important for my line of work. By calling me a 'genius' you're asking me to fulfill your expectations, to be everything you expect a genius to be. I don't 'save relationships' 'change lives' or 'speak to the soul of a generation.' Those are all words that have been crammed onto dust jackets and into introductions by overenthusiastic editors and mistaken intellectual suitors.
"The man you are all calling is genius is truly nothing more than a shell you're pouring your own hopes, dreams, and expectations into. You call me a genius because you think these ideas are mine, and you think they are better than yours. That these ideas haven't been hashed and rehashed a thousand time by academics, drunks, and thousands of people just like you.
"Don't get me wrong. I believe everything I wrote in those books. You've studied them, maybe made your own notes in the margins, even taken the class. What you've all missed, though, is the point. You think that one critically-proclaimed 'genius' is going to give you the answers about life, love, and philosophy you've been looking for.
"Fine. Here's the big revelation. I don't know. I'm as clueless as you. You may very well have the idea that proves me wrong - and you're probably right. So quit listening to me. Quit calling me a 'genius.' The only idea I've been espousing this entire time is that you need to start thinking for yourselves.
"The label of 'genius' is nothing more than your way of convincing yourselves it's OK, it's 'justifiable' to find yourself somehow inferior. Of course I don't 'look like a genius.' No more than you. Quit talking yourself down, using this word to tell yourself I'm somehow better. The simple truth is, you need to shut the hell up. Look inside and meet the genius you are.
"I look forward to being personally introduced."
posted by Andrea at 7:32 AM
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