In a news article yesterday I came across the following statement: "Pop culture is united in the views presented to our young people." Well, yes. And no. Are there some themes that seem to be prevalent? Of course, not the least being the one that says that it doesn't matter what you do and what you try because the world is going to hell in a hand basket so you might as well have a good time now. And that is balanced out by the theme that says you can have anything you want if you just go out and look for it, strive for it, work for it. Far from being so united, it seems to me that pop culture is sending some contradictory messages.
But let's be fair; it's not only today's pop culture that seems to be full of contradictions. The pop culture that was around when I was a child, teen and young adult also sent what seemed to be contradictory messages.
Popular when I was a child was the song "Que sera, sera," sung by Doris Day. The lyrics were as follows:
When I was just a little girl
I asked my mother, what will I be
Will I be pretty, will I be rich
Here's what she said to me.
Que Sera, Sera,
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be.
When I was young, I fell in love
I asked my sweetheart what lies ahead
Will we have rainbows, day after day
Here's what my sweetheart said.
Que Sera, Sera,
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be.
Now I have children of my own
They ask their mother, what will I be
Will I be handsome, will I be rich
I tell them tenderly.
Que Sera, Sera,
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be.
The message of the song seems to be that nothing we are going to do today is going to have any effect on the future because whatever will be, will be, and there is nothing we can do to change that, so enjoy today and let tomorrow take care of itself.
Existing side by side with that song was the popular children's fable "The Ant and the Grasshopper."
Æsop. (Sixth century B.C.) Fables.The Harvard Classics. 1909–14.
The Ant and the Grasshopper
IN a field one summer’s day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart’s content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to the nest.
“Why not come and chat with me,” said the Grasshopper, “instead of toiling and moiling in that way?”
“I am helping to lay up food for the winter,” said the Ant, “and recommend you to do the same.”
“Why bother about winter?” said the Grasshopper; “we have got plenty of food at present.” But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil. When the winter came the Grasshopper had no food, and found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing every day corn and grain from the stores they had collected in the summer. Then the Grasshopper knew:
“IT IS BEST TO PREPARE FOR THE DAYS OF NECESSITY.”
The grasshopper, clearly a "que sera, sera" kind of creature, saw no necessity to prepare for the future; things were fine in the summer, so why bother with thinking about the winter.
Well, today, literally and figuratively, winter has arrived and the future has become the present. There are an awful lot of people who bought into the idea that the future will take care of itself; it's today, not tomorrow, that is important. And like the grasshopper, they find themselves without any morsels of corn or grain put away.
Sorry Doris, but whether or not we can clearly see what is in the future doesn't mean that we shouldn't be preparing for it. We need to be less like the grasshopper and more like the ants. The financial crunch that many people find themselves in wasn't brought on solely by a capricious future; some of it was brought on through "grasshoppering" in the summer instead of putting corn away for winter. Or as that saying, also popular when I was young, advised: "Make hay while the sun shines."
It would be nice to think that people, seeing what is going on today, will take to heart the lesson of "some for now, some for later." I live in hope that they will do so. But either way, que sera, sera.
4 comments:
Off the topic but I really could use an answer. I've been considering becoming a blogger and have been looking at the blogs I read closely. I really don't like the blogs where something new gets posted only once a week or even longer. But how do you organize yourself to get things posted more often? I've been reading you so I know you have a busy life but you somehow get all these postings up. Is there a trick to this I just don't know about? Really would like to know and any help would be appreciated.
None other than Yosef HaTzaddik realized the relationship between planning and the future.
Debra,
SL is right that a lot of it is planning, but there is a lot of serendipity involved as well. Sometimes I have a slew of topics in mind and go on a writing marathon. I put the postings into scheduled postings and spread them out. Other times a comment by a reader here or on other blogs prompts a posting of my own. Sometimes it's reading something that someone else has posted. Sometimes it's news events that are happening. Sometimes it's a line from a book I'm reading. Sometimes it's what's happening right outside my window. Sometimes my work prompts a posting (like the question of the day postings). Holidays are always good for multiple postings. My mailbox has also brought me fodder for postings.
I keep a lot of possible postings in the drafts folder. I also keep some titles that I like the sound of but don't quite yet know what posting is going to match up with them in the drafts. I guess for me the trick is to get something down on "paper" first and figure out when I'll publish it after that.
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