Troubled Sleep pt. 1

"Americans do not enjoy the process of thinking. When they do concentrate it is in order to escape all thought."
-Jean Paul Sartre

This is an observation made by a French character in the novel "Troubled Sleep". In the scene Paris has just been overrun by the Nazis in WWII and no one in New York is reacting except two men in a French cafe. The two characters spent the day trying to find somebody who will share their despair, but are only able to find each other after a full day of dealing with Americans who have little care for the demise of Paris.

The quote struck me because it is something I have constantly thought, but not as clearly as this is stated. I know few people outside of my own generation that watch movies for more than just entertainment(escape), and I seldom meet people who read books that have heavy, scary, or challenging themes(engagement). I am sure that this is an exaggeration and not to be taken seriously, but I think it is something that is still true for many people. I have been in many an argument about why I don't like movies or books that reflect and assume a type of positivity that I don't think is valid when truly evaluating how the world works. That type of writing presents something that in my opinion has no benefit for the listener because it is a method that gives them artificial positivity. This sounds harsh. I am not against all forms of positivity in art or media, but I think there needs to be a diversity (in what is studied/viewed/read) that represents the full experience of life. And that if positivity is the subject of an expression it needs to be realistic positivity that doesn't give people a false sense of the world around them (i.e. disney movies where everything in the end is perfect).

In conclusion, I think engagement in negative feelings (sadness, despair, anger) is an important part of the human existence. Americans are known to ignore reality and escape their problems into a state of false happiness, but this does not always have to be the case. Lets all start a campaign against the evil of ignoring reality for the benefit of our emotions, and begin engaging the negativity in the world in order to understand it and give it a realistic positive response. Thank you.