IRRECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES?

From the start, this entry refers to the preceding entry Voldemort Of Santa Susana, which means that these two entries are supposed to go in tandem.

My last entry raised the curious question of whether the good can be aesthetically ugly, while the bad, also aesthetically, beautiful. (Notice that the repeatedly used word “aesthetically” is the key word here!) Apparently, there is no absolute consensus on this issue, as we have, say, Sappho, saying that “what is beautiful is good, and who is good will soon be beautiful,” yet Hugo seems to contradict her in his Quasimodo, as he is certainly not implying that the hunchback’s hidden goodness could ever make him anything but loathsome to others.

Yet we seem to have come to the conclusion that the answer to both these questions is yes. Which indicates that we may have matured enough to handle the next tough question, and here it is:

Can romantic idealism peacefully coexist with heartless cynicism inside one person?

Voltaire, the incorrigible cynic, turned, in his Candide, war and human suffering into mockery, ostensibly, for the good cause of fighting social injustice. A truly moral man, however, cannot treat with sarcasm the weak nature of the powerless and underprivileged, even for the best possible reason. Respect the little man! Hate social injustice and the hypocrisy of the powerful! Mock these powerful as much as you wish, but do not offend those beneath you! On the other hand, Voltaire is so much more exciting than some humorlessly passionate social activist! Can this conflict ever be reconciled?

To which we can respond with a delicious paraphrase from Chairman Mao’s little red book: Let a hundred flowers bloom! Let a hundred irreconcilable differences eternally compete!