This restored archive was originally published in January 2014. I was taking this video way too seriously because I didn't know how to enjoy comedy for what it is - something to laugh about. It's a good example of how I used to think I had to justify my enjoyment, and this sort of comedy was a source of guilt for me, because it involved - gasp! Cussing.
Henry David Thoreau wrote in Walden, “One would say that even the prophets and redeemers had rather consoled the fears than confirmed the hopes of man.”
I found this observation one to be worth being indignant about. I’m out to encourage people, but I’m not just going to be a passive force; one that offers consolation instead of hope. Often I’m in that category, however. I find myself getting the most attention when I use poignant negativity, but hardly making a splash when I talk about dreams and obsessions.
What are the hopes of man? So few people know what they hope, and they have forgotten how to dream.
That’s not an exaggeration. It’s a fact I’ve seen confirmed again and again when participating in countless Socratic Dialogues. I ask about hopes, and I’m answered with life plans: finish school, live a quiet life with a planned out career path. How can I remarkably confirm these hopes if I say nothing unique compared to what others will also respond with? “That’s great. Go for it. Have a nice life.”
I don’t mean career ambitions when I ask about the hopes of man. I want to know about a time when the weak are defended, and the victory of heaven breaks loose. I want to hear about the stars’ incomprehensible size and how the universe is expanding, and how it has no edge. I want to hear talk of children with futures, and an appreciation for flowers.
As I write this, I realize I want to confirm the hopes proven to be the strongest safeguard against pain. Let me tell you a story about some Norwegian comedians who decided to test their endurance. The Ylvisåker brothers and their co-host, Calle, know that Calle has the highest pain tolerance, and Bård has the weakest.
In this video, however, they tried to see if swearing would help deal with pain. Calle is allowed to swear, Vegard can’t say anything, and Bård, the weakest of the three, says only happy, hopeful things while holding his hands in a bowl of ice water. It’s hilarious (obvious language warning).
Hope is what helps mankind make it through pain. Therefore, those who go farther than Thoreau’s prophets are the people who relieve pain and bring beauty instead of merely delivering consolation.
The prophets aren’t here to preach doom and gloom, but to beat at the doors of heaven until they break and spill forth their glory. This is why prophets are ordinary. They aren’t born special, they’re just earnestly pursuing heaven.
What are your hopes? Tell me what helps you through the hard times and to appreciate the good ones. Those hopes want desperately to become real, just as ideas are always fighting to break into the realm of tangible existence. Perhaps confirming hopes means to make them real.