They just don't get us

Slate and the A.V. Club both dissed on Dane Cook. Slate has gone so far as to criticize Cook's lack of a coherent moral philosophy. However, I like to think that rather than the Baby Busters'--I don't have to call them Generation X if I don't want to--had a particularly lame-ass version of idealism--exemplar "Mean People Suck." Our generation (over-generalization) is making peace with the conflicted nature of our humanity. This piece by Dane Cook is a prime example. Ever since Siddharta Gautama sought enlightenment, the history of philosophy has been summed up by the disillusionment of the certain. Socrates, Jesus, Mohammed, Francis of Assisi, Luther, Voltaire, et al. represent thinkers who in one moment recognize the futility of idealism and but are compelled by its beauty.


Not that I am trying to suggest that we should all join the church of Dane Cook, but I do believe that he is speaking for our generation. If you think about it, the current generation of kids is growing up in a world of mirrors. They can post themselves on Youtube, they see slide shows of their Field Day the day afterwards, they edit movies of themselves on their cellphones and watch them on their iPods. Never has the potential to be self-aware more vast.

This presents the citizens of an Information Democracy with a moral dilemma. In an environment of total information awareness, nothing can be hidden. We cannot tell ourselves noble lies and believe in other human beings because we will see our leader's raunchy e-mails on Dateline NBC in "To Catch a Predator." In the information age, the only thing left for us to do is to accept our faults, relish in our flawed humanity, and for those brave enough, search for something more meaningful altogether.