Our intern this summer asked me, pretty much out of the blue, whether I believed in existentialism.
I know the textbook definition is: “a philosophical theory or approach that emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining their own development through acts of the will.” But I wanted to know what HE meant.
“How can you have worked in the same job for over 23 years?”
“Because it always changes. The technology changes, the data changes, the clients and counselors change, the world changes.”
“So you count on things changing.”
“I don’t COUNT on the world changing, it just DOES. It’s like those occupational tests I used to take. They always asked what I imagined I’d be doing five years hence. What I imagined never meshed with the reality.”
I’m now going to try to will you all to Ask Roger Anything. That’s because YOU are my change agent. I may/do have some posts already planned. What YOU do is change the trajectory of my mind, thinking about THAT, when THAT might never crossed my mind. I find this to be a good thing, BTW.
As usual, you may ask me ANYTHING – advice or opinions or philosophical musings, even (GULP) politics. I will answer, generally within a month.
I will answer your queries to the best of my ability/memory/flashback/drugged state honestly, though the mind plays tricks on one, doesn’t it? A little obfuscation on my part IS not only allowed, but required.
You can leave your comments below. If you prefer to remain anonymous, that’s fine; you should e-mail me at rogerogreen (AT) gmail (DOT) com, or end me an IM on Facebook (make sure it’s THIS Roger Green, the one with the duck) and note that you want to remain unmentioned; otherwise, I’ll assume you want to be cited.
Ten things you’ve done that you’re still proud of.
At what point did you conclude that having a “mid-life crisis” was out of the question, and what led you to that conclusion?
I’ve been reading your blog again and found I’ve missed it. How do you think you’ve changed as a blogger over the time you’ve been doing this? One thing that hasn’t changed is the layout of the page. Ever think of changing it? (By the way, that’s not me saying it needs a change.) What is the biggest change you’ve seen in your job?
How do you reconcile agreeing philosophically with people, yet being #@$%*! annoyed with them? I’m thinking of political activists, religious people, whatever. Generally speaking, do you tend to focus on the agreement and ignore what annoys you, or does your annoyance prevent you from acknowledging the agreement?
Thought of another one: We often hear about “mansplaining”, when a man, usually arrogantly, “explains” things to a woman. I recently also heard “whitesplaning” to describe white people “explaining” to black people what the nature of racism is, Black Lives Matter, etc. In your opinion, is there such a thing as “blacksplaining”? And, are all these “splaining” names useful for understanding and exposing bias, or are they attempts to shut down debate? Are they used to intimidate people into silence, or are they merely a way to get people to see their own blindspots and arrogance?
I just saw one of my favorite SMBC strips: http://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/2013-04-15 To what extent do you feel this is accurate?
Do you feel like a grown-up yet? When does that happen?
Do you feel like you’re pushing your daughter towards certain career choices or letting her choose, or both? Do you think you’d be supportive of a career where it would be difficult for her to make a living, e.g. actress or musician?
Do you ever just totally forget yourself and accidentally use language or terms that are foreign to your audience? (Example: I referred to something as “Kafkaesque” to a church friend who is not college educated.)
How boss are you at Trivial Pursuit? What version do you play?
Have you ever wondered why Assange is in th Ecuadorian embassy or all those fake news places are registered to Columbia? Don’t those seem like weirdly arbitrary choices?
Why Ecuador’s embassy?