The Joy of a Broken Clock

Excitement is twice daily for broken clock owners. When their timekeeper aligns with the universe, everything is copacetic: joy and exultation times two.

These brief instances of affirmation create resistance however. With their rightness validated, they hold onto their clock. They ignore the reality that it is time to move on to a more reliable timepiece.

Etiology?

Humans crave confirmation and validation. To be right is special. It feels good. Even a fleeting moment of exactitude is satisfying.

The fix is tremendous. Gene Hackman, in Hoosiers, captures this feeling of satisfaction. He describes a High School Basketball player’s the short-lived fame. He declared that “most people would kill to be treated like a god for a few moments.”

For those of the ordinary, they elevate themselves by having views matching the rich and famous. In the deep down recesses of their minds, they posit that they had the potentiality to become their idol. After all, they think alike.

Thus, the feeling that one is mentally on the correct track with both their views and opinions is edifying. This exhuberant sense is amplified when individuals preferred celebrities and personalities align with them.

Recently, a celebrity/personality, once again, went contrarian. This time, however, it was perhaps a miscalculation. Being the contrarian also includes the notion that one may need to be contrarian to their own contrarian beliefs. As such, the ad nauseam repetition of the contrarian views becomes tiresome.

Thus, what may have been perceived as cute, outrageous, and shocking behavior is no longer. Rather, excessive contrarianism inevitably morphs into a tired diatribe. A sad call for attention. The public eventually becomes blind to the calls of “look at me, look at me.”

Now, even those who were holding onto this particular broken clock feel no joy. They are no longer interested. They have graduated from their prior infatuation. Broken clocks, sometimes, can get more broken.

Conclusion

The broken clock is a cautionary tale. We will likely never find a timepiece that completely matches up with our personal world view. Thus, one must choose their timekeepers carefully. This month, the world may have witnessed the most remarkable self-cancellation. A broken individual may have broken himself. Many of those remaining admirers have simply had enough. Time has run out. Sometimes, the broken clock no longer brings joy.

Be well!!

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