‘In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.’ — Albert Camus
Way back when — last month — that kind of schmaltz got an eye roll and went straight into the pompous file. Writers love to wax poetic, they can’t help themselves. It’s a lovely sentiment and all, but doesn’t change the fact it’s 2º below zero and the wind is howling like a banshee. The summer within is just as dormant as the summer without.
High-flown quotations are good sport, though. We love to rattle them off and the more pretentious the better. It adds a little sophistication to our usual lowbrow conversations, as if we didn’t really sleep through English class. Sounding cultured is a nice change.
So imagine my surprise when I found myself reacting to this quote with a sneer and a fake news label.
Yipes, what has happened to my trusting naiveté? Albert Camus wasn’t being deceptive; he wasn’t deluding himself or posturing or bloviating. If anything, the dude was aiming to inspire, but the world is wary these days. We’re simply unwilling to accept things at face value. Credulity only stretches so far, you know.
Clearly, the prevailing atmosphere of bellicose insanity has had consequences. Hell, the applecart’s been upset and we’ve all lost our footing. But the most upsetting part is, it’s only been three weeks! Imagine what four years of this nonsense will do –assuming the planet survives that long.
How about we take matters into our own hands? Let’s try this:
There, see?, we’ve turned everything around. Repeat as necessary.
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the whirly girl 