Jerry Seinfeld... A philosopher for contemporary times?

I am by nature a curious person, I love to think about possibilities, innovative ideas, and different perspectives. I don't necessary like change for change sake, but I do enjoy the process of reflection. This reflective process has been challenging as of late as the viewpoints or commentaries I have encountered have largely been about some rather depressing topics (ie COVID19, unemployment rates).

This all changed when a work colleague made me aware of the Jerry Seinfeld Netflix special "23 Hours to Kill". I have always loved Seinfeld's ability to look at everyday interactions in a unique way. I first saw Jerry at a comedy club in Hollywood around 1986 and even today I am a consistent viewer of re-runs of his NBC comedy sitcom.

As I sat back and started the Netflix special I began to realize that some of the bits in this show might be pretty good guidelines to follow in this current time which tends to be so overwhelmingly negative. Here are a few of the ideas he shared that I think I might be able to embrace on my "path forward":

"Wherever you are, really, anywhere in life, at some point, you gotta get the hell outta there. You’re at work; you wanna get home......You’re out, and it’s late. I gotta get back...When’s the plane gonna land?” Plane lands. “Why don’t they open the door so we can get out?” Nobody wants to be anywhere. Nobody likes anything. We’re cranky, we’re irritable, and we’re dealing with it by constantly changing locations"

This idea of never being satisfied with where we are really resonated given my current context. Why can't we just embrace the place where we are and not be in such a hurry to be someone else? It could be the impact of spending the past 14 days quarantined in a 12 x 12 hotel room, but I am really looking forward to just being at my house and amongst other people. I have long since given up on the idea that the grass is greener someone else and maybe Seinfeld has helped me to better embrace the idea of being "present" wherever you are.

"Sucks” and “great” are the only two ratings people even give to anything anymore. “Hey, let’s go see that new movie. I heard it’s great.” “Really? I heard it sucked...I say that “sucks” and “great” are the exact same thing. You have an ice cream cone. Walking down the street, the ice cream falls off the top of the cone, hits the pavement. Sucks. What do you say? Great"

This observation seemed to resonate with me especially as I listen to people's views on just about anything these days. We don't seem to be able to grasp that a middle ground exists with regard to any topic. We either hate it or we love it, we are for it or we are against it. We either support our country or we should leave it. Almost any time a new idea is introduced the first natural response from some people is what is wrong with the idea rather than considering the possible benefits. It is really hard to get people to lower their guard and embrace the idea that compromise isn't really a bad thing and that the truth to most conflict lies in the complicated middle rather than the extremes.

"What about your device dictatorship that you live under, cowering in fear from your phone? My phone! Where’s my phone? I can’t find my phone. It’s… Oh, here it is. I got it. It’s here. It’s here. My phone is here...When that battery gets low… you feel like your whole body’s runnin’ out of power, don’t you? I just… I-I feel tired when the phone battery gets down to ten or five. I can’t even walk"

This is something I truly wish I could improve. At my current school we are operating a distance learning program and are making plans for a possible return to campus. As government directives change almost hourly I feel almost required to check my phone all the time. At the same time I feel like it doesn't really matter because the information I receive this minute seems to change 10 minutes later. It is just so exhausting. I wish I could somehow give myself permission to just turn my device off without feeling a sense of guilt. I don't know if this will every change, but Seinfeld's cautionary words on this "dictatorship" have caused me to really reflect on my need to take some steps to "unplug" more often.

Now I don't know if Jerry Seinfeld really ranks up there with the great "idea" people out there. He should probably not be taken as seriously as modern day thinkers like Malcolm Gladwell, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Thomas Friedman, or Cornell West, but Seinfeld's light hearted view on everyday life has provided me with a new perspective. In a time of very serious issues and an upcoming US election that will likely be as vitriolic as any in history, it was enjoyable to listen to the perspective of a person best known for a "show about nothing". This 100 minute video certainly provided me a needed escape and maybe even a new perspective for my "path forward" and maybe it might do the same for you.

Be safe... be healthy... and be well.

====================================================================== "Why do I always have the feeling that everybody’s doing something better than me on Saturday afternoons?”

– Jerry Seinfeld