Letting Go of the Arrogant Fantasy That We Know What This Is
“For we must record love’s mystery without claptrap,
Snatch out of time the passionate transitory.”
purchase Lyrica canada Patrick Kavanagh
The word “claptrap” originates from the eighteenth century when theatres used silly gimmicks to get the audience to clap. Like Pavlov’s dog, you ring a simple bell, and the poor animal just salivates. It’s a cheap trick, but it works every time.
Claptrap is everywhere these days. There is an interesting theory called cognitive fluency which suggests the more something makes sense to us, the more likely we are to believe it is true. Make two copies of a text, but use a font that is easier to read for one of them, and people will generally feel that the text that is easier to read is somehow more true. The scary thing is just how easy it is to make bullshit comprehensible so potentially millions of people believe it is true.
Of course, this is not a new thing. The Sophists realized that what matters when it comes to influencing people isn’t what is true but what makes sense. They taught the citizens of ancient Greece on how to win arguments and create convincing claptrap. I’ve no doubt the sophists would have experienced tremendous glee at the potential of the internet.
Our weakness for claptrap is the driving force behind the arrogant fantasy that we know what this is. We have turned our understanding into a god with the result that life appears unsatisfying, pointless, and worthless. We have become worshipers of claptrap. Is it any wonder that many feel the need to anesthetize themselves with drugs or fantasize about an end to this meaningless world.
Peace comes when we let go of our arrogant fantasy that we know what life is. This requires humility, and the acknowledgement that perhaps the universe is more complicated than our limited brains. Then, instead of trying to understand peace, we might just be it.
