I’ve never been one to believe in happy endings.
Not that I always object to them in a movie or novel. In music, I definitely prefer a satisfying resolution at the end of a song or a symphony to a conclusion of crashing dissonance or irresolution. But a fulfilling end to a work of art is precisely that — a work of artifice, conjured in a mind, executed with intent, and brought to a moment of deliberate completion. The tidy tying up of a plot or the pleasing return to the tonic chord is a function of the human will to create a world more orderly than our own — one with a firmly defined beginning, middle, and end, and with internal movement that culminates in something beautiful.
Our own world — the real world — isn’t like this. Not only does it not have many happy endings, it doesn’t even have many endings, period. Wars start and they stop, usually with one side or another claiming victory. But the stream of moments goes on even in such cases. Every conclusion is […]
I too feel the same as you do Stephan, and feel the essence of this story which shows the un-exceptionalism of our country. This theory of exceptionalism has been drilled into our minds through all of our years of schooling from the beginning right through to our acceptance of a college degree. It has always been a part of the teaching even if hidden at times. It, however, has been part of my thinking to question everything. That is the sign of real science: to question everything, no matter what realm one is referring to.