About Discernment
Post 1757:
When I was a kid I was an idiot who thought he knew everything. I wasn’t abnormal or some special case—just a standard issue knucklehead not looking for advice or the wisdom of my betters. More than knowledge, I lacked discernment—being able to tell the good from the bad.
Growing discernment is part of growing up. Our insight gets sharper, either through wisdom or simple trial-by-error.
I wonder sometimes if our discernment gets better when confronted with art. Understandably, many adults don't think of stories as serious and therefore don’t apply their discernment when choosing what to watch or read.
It’s a complicated one. Kids are many times the best at discerning quality. Adults certainly love stories like the original Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings, but they aren’t the reason they are timeless. Kids instinctively pick up on timeless themes and can be transported by great storytelling naturally. They may lack the ability to formally break down their reasons for liking something, but who cares. For kids, good is good, and when they grow up, that thing they loved will still be good. I love movies like Raiders of the Lost Ark now just as much as I did when I was a kid. Maybe more.
My hope for adults is that they don’t forget to turn on their discernment when they turn on a show or pick up a book. It doesn’t take militaristic mental penetration to quickly figure out that something is crap or that the creator is disingenuous. I hope people turn on their discernment because the more they do, the harder artists will work. Better writing will be the result. It will be a new golden age. Great characters that do things for reasons. Entertaining entertainment.
People are always talking about demanding more from their public officials. I don’t know about any of that, but I think people should demand better quality from their writers and writers should demand more discernment out of consumers. And honest trade. Discernment tells me this would be super awesome.
Cheers and see you after.
