The Truth

"The trouble is that we have a bad habit, encouraged by pedants and sophisticates, of considering happiness as something rather stupid. Only pain is intellectual, only evil interesting. This is the treason of the artist: a refusal to admit the banality of evil and the terrible boredom of pain." Ursula K. Le Guin.

This quote is from The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, a short story I had to read for class last semester. Probably the best short story I've ever encountered, Le Guin discusses the indiscernible parallels between utopian and dystopian societies. Something that is not as far from our current political discussions as it initially appears.

The quote is so close to the truth for me. There is a real appreciation for that which hurts. That which plays on our tragic realities. That which incites thought provoking melancholy. And I’m over it. Optimism may yield unrealistic results, but it’s much sweeter then peering through our present looking glass. I only wish that I had been introduced to this quote when I was in high school. The hours spent dissecting lyrics and the days spent capitalizing on what ifs could have been so much more productive.