The Paradox of “The Paradox of Our Time”
When I first came to Emerson in 2004 I read something someone from my Expository Writing class shared with our class (and subsequently posted on Live Journal )called “The Paradox of Our TIme.” He said it was credited to George Carlin. We all took him at his word. It sounded like something George Carlin might write. It was philosophical enough for Carlin but there was just one problem: it wasn’t funny. There was something familiar about it though, as if I had heard it before. I figured I probably caught a George Carlin special on HBO where he delivered it. I didn’t give it much thought
A couple of months later I came across it again, forwarded in an email to me from someone who was new to the privilege of internet. In this email was “The Paradox of Our Time” once again but this time it wasn’t credited to Carlin, it was credited to a Columbine student.
There was one particular quote from “The Paradox of Our Time” that made its way on my away message a while back. Tonight, while flipping through my away message archives I came across it again. I decided to look into it. As it turns out neither a Columbine student nor Carlin wrote “The Paradox of Our Time.” Further online credit has been given to Anonymous. I asked Anonymous, (s)he said s(he) didn’t write it. And Anonymous doesn’t lie.
The real author of “The Paradox of Our Time” Dr. Robert Moorehead, a former pastor of Seattle’s Overlake Christian Church and author of Words Aptly Spoken , a 1995 collection of prayers, homilies, and monologues used in his sermons and radio broadcasts.
In 1999 my little brother Craig and I were at the Christian book store in Baton Rouge. Don’t ask me why. I think we were buying birthday gifts for our mom or something. I held this book in my very hand. This is where I first read what was then called “The Paradox of Our Age.” It was right there all along.
I’m not a Christian but there is something about “The Paradox of Our Time” that speaks truth about America. If you’ve never read it czech it out below:
“The Paradox of our Time”
by Dr. Robert Moorehead
The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints; we spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy it less.
We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time; we have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, but more problems; more medicine, but less wellness.
We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get angry too quickly, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too seldom, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life; we’ve added years to life, not life to years.
We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor. We’ve conquered outer space, but not inner space; we’ve done larger things, but not better things.
We’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul; we’ve split the atom, but not our prejudice.
We write more, but learn less; we plan more, but accomplish less. We’ve learned to rush, but not to wait; we have higher incomes, but lower morals; we have more food, but less appeasement; we build more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever, but have less communication; we’ve become long on quantity, but short on quality.
These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; tall men, and short character; steep profits, and shallow relationships. These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare; more leisure, but less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition.
These are days of two incomes, but more divorce; of fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throw away morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer to quiet to kill.
It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the stockroom; a time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete.