Depression
There is no unpolished reality… depressive thoughts are not more real than happy thoughts even though it might be convenient to assume so sometimes.
That’s an opinion, I believe, that a lot of people share.
Both ends of the spectrum are delusional, sure. But the effects of these delusions, in the world around us, differ.
In my own limited experience, the more “rose tinted” end tend to overlook potential problems, if not completely ignore them, more often.
But there are problems. A whole heap of them. That is what I see as unpolished reality. And acknowledging it is important, if we would hope to do better.
You won’t have superpowers, but nothing is stopping you from fighting cartoonish villains.
Um the police/fbi are specifically there to stop people from fighting their cartoonishly evil masters. And you aren’t really considered a hero for doing that.
When I get that funny feeling I ask myself:
Who, where and when would I rather be? Some celebrity? A pesant from 1600? Some random bird? My grandpa? A hunter gatherer?
This humbles me. For a brief moment, I get to be part of the superorganism we call earth.
The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation. From the desperate city you go into the desperate country, and have to console yourself with the bravery of minks and muskrats. A stereotyped but unconscious despair is concealed even under what are called the games and amusements of mankind. There is no play in them, for this comes after work. But it is a characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things.
Thoreau, Walden
According to Brittanica, muskrats are in the same subfamily as lemmings! I think Lemmy has its new motto.
The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation
Bravery in this context is likely the same “brave” that is used in the phrase “O brave new world. That has such people in’t!” from The Tempest. It’s not “brave” as in courageous, but rather refers to handsomeness, beauty, splendor, etc. So Thoreau here is probably saying, “you go from the city into the country hoping to find something beautiful and all you find is a bunch of rodents.”
hobbies that will never fill the void
sounds like they just haven’t found their hobby yet