Isn’t always a word or phrase. It may also be an act or series of acts. Coming from the Latin “obscenus,” meaning disgusting or indecent, its meaning applies to far more than language. This was a concept I hadn’t considered. As a result of teaching Tim O’Brien’s novel The Things They Carried a few dozen times, this concept grew to make perfect sense to me.
The title of my blog, “Stories Are For Eternity,” derives from the same book. A quote from the novel that has long stuck in my mind is the following, “If you don’t care for obscenity, you don’t care for the truth….” It’s a fragment from a larger quote but this shortened version will work for today.
Obscene language is language that offends us, threatens us, is repugnant to us. As years have gone by, that concept has changed. For example, when I was teaching I’d hear the “eff” word 3-5 times when walking to my classroom each morning before 7:30 a.m. As an English teacher, it was not the nicest way to start the day. Does the word offend me? Depends on its usage. In teenage lexicon it just sounds stupid, though kids think it cool. I digress.
Back to the quote equating obscenity with truth. I witnessed obscenity on January 6, 2020 through events on television. And what I witnessed yesterday was one of the most baseless and obscene acts ever. This statement comes from one who, through television at the time, witnessed JFK, RFK, MLK, John Lennon, and Anwar Sadat’s assassinations. Along with the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan, I watched three astronauts die in the Apollo 1 capsule, consumed by flame, witnessed the Kent State tragedy, as well as the My Lai Massacre…all before the age of 25. Events have become far more horrific as the years go by.
I’m not here to argue my beliefs and I’m certain some will disagree strongly with my thoughts. That’s ok. They’re my thoughts, my opinions, and I have the right to express them. My point, however, is that the events I’ve mentioned, and many I haven’t, are obscenity personified. They have shocked me, repulsed me, horrified me, traumatized me. Consider this…several individuals took the time to spread excrement throughout the Capitol Building on 1/6/20. Are the people who regularly walk about carrying bags of excrement or are willing to drop their drawers and poop on command? What kind of people think this way and why isn’t it disgusting to them to do such a thing?
I don’t have answers for those questions. However, I know what I saw yesterday through the images on television. What I saw was unnecessary, repugnant, and willful. Because I acknowledge the obscenity within human nature, I know I’ve experienced the truth.
N.B. This occurred in a city that experienced the killing of George Floyd just over five years ago. A perfect example of an obscene act, why didn’t they learn from it? I have no more words at the moment. Except make sure you stir up some good trouble.
Stories Are For Eternity 