Kyle Yancey's Library tagged Literature →  View Popular

The
more one wallows in one's inner feelings, of
course, the more anxious one becomes. Permit me to
state without equivocation that your innermost
feelings, whoever you might be, are commonplace,
dull, and tawdry. Thrown back upon one's feelings,
one does not become a Harry Potter or Luke
Skywalker, but a petulant, self-indulgent bore
with an aversion to mirrors.

We are too complacent to wish
upon ourselves such a transformation, and too lazy
to attempt it. We find tiresome the old religions
of the West that preach repentance and redemption,
and instead wish to hear reassurance that God
loves us and that everything is all right. We have
lost the burning thirst for truth - for inner
change - that drives men to learn ancient
languages, pore over mathematical proofs, master
musical instruments, or disappear into the wild.
We want our thrills pre-packaged and
micro-waveable. Above all we want our political
leaders, our pastors, our artists and our partners
in life to validate our innermost feelings,
loathsome as they may be. I do not know you, dear
reader; the only thing I know about you with
certainty is that your innermost feelings would
bore me.