The War on the Cynical

Years ago I had the realization that I do not like cynicism. In my heart of hearts the glib and the sarcastic makes me want to cry foul. To this end I tried to describe the open to the possibilities and free to enjoy the broad wonder of the world feeling that protagonists I appreciate show in their actions, reactions and responses. In my exploration of my own motivations I started tapping into my core values. The ones I have expressed via what I "stand up for" and I find "repulsive".

I find myself returning to images and thought pictures.

Norman Rockwells "Freedom of Speech"

Norman Rockwells "Happy Birthday Miss Jones"

Norman Rockwells "After the Prom"

Norman Rockwells "Hayseed Critic"

Horace Bristol - “Tom Joad, 1938”

George Bailey as he tries to figure out what to do as his fathers dream begins to fade.

George Bailey as he holds Mary's robe and she is nude in a Hydrangea Bush the night of the Big Dance.
x
Shirley Temple as she defends herself against that mean old Mrs. Minchin.

Kurt Russell and Fred MacMurray in Follow Me Boys.

Charlie Chaplin and Jackie Coogan in The Kid.

Boys Town

All sorts of images flow in.

American Gothic,
My Grandfather working on his tractor or is his metal or wood shops.
My grandmother canning or baking.
Grandpa making breakfast with summer sausage, eggs and the rye bread we had gone to the bakery for....on the way to get his cigarettes( and candy for us of course)
And how on that trip every adult I met wanted to shake Emil's kid's kid's hand and ask him about his last baseball games before he came out to see grandpa. Put 'er there Mister!
My grandparents neighbors Hap and Julia who couldn't have kids but there house was a temple to the things little kids of all ages find fascinating.

Most people in those circles my grandparents traveled in had a high school education at best...and some vocational training. And I feel that deep down inside they are the people we should emulate. Not morons. People with common sense who read and think but also don't take life so seriously as to be drunk and despondent on the bile created by the idea that they should somehow be in control of things.

To be disillusioned is to mean that you were wrapped in an illusion to start with.
I have watched people I respect grapple with the idea that they should be kings and queens of their own destiny and thus try and tell a grand story of disillusionment and spiritual rebirth looking for it themselves.

Even to say that one is disenchanted means that they were under a spell.

Each of these ideas seem to lead back to a love of glamour and excitement and the rewards people feel it will bring to them.

The older I get and the more I see, the more I want to tell simple stories or provide simple digestable experiences for people. I want to make things fun. While not trying to enchant, or educate, but simply entertain and spin a yarn.

That is why, years ago I thought I wanted to become more acquainted with My Inner Hayseed and encourage others to get in touch with Their Inner Hayseed.

I formulated this concept in a vacuum and do not know if other people out there might have used this term. It was a response to cynical glib blah blah. I have used it since the late 1990's to describe a philosophy of attaching oneself to what is real and what represents that which has generally been lost to most people making entertainment these days.

I am going to go through my previous ideas and then head off to the Inner Hayseed horizon.
You are welcome to come along, or check in from time to time. Happy Trails! -irk