Twain with a Twist

Mark Twain (1835-1910)
American par excellence

 Quotes for the ages from Mark Twain:

"It's easier to fool a man than to convince him that he's been fooled."

"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect."

"Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it."

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When I conduct my daily life I can’t help wondering about others who are doing the same. And then I compare myself to them in an attempt to understand similarities and differences. Reading through the above quotes, I imagine that Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain) did that very thing himself.

As for me, myself, and I — I begin with a mind-body-soul premise, being mindful that we are human beings endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, just as the American Declaration of Independence succinctly states.

It is incumbent upon us, then, to care for ourselves: to keep a clear, logically thinking, inquisitive and reasoning mind; to be vigilant about keeping our bodies fit and healthy; and to properly maintain the everyday faith, hope and charity that feeds our souls. All of the above give us nourishment and stamina.

This state of being should naturally lead one to live by convictions steeped in courage, integrity and backbone, which of course must be tempered by humility. The source of humility is the acknowledgement that, but for the grace of God working in our lives, all is for naught. Yet one wonders, as Mark Twain obviously did, how many among us in our day-to-day lives aspire to lofty ideals or engage in all that much self-reflection, let alone self-correction. 

I like to think that grace manifests as wisdom and humor, as one is filled with poetic wonder regarding the natural world and the ever-present mysteries of the supernatural. After all, human beings inhabit both natural and supernatural dimensions simultaneously. 

For me, I  sense that when we are not apprehending God’s grace working in our lives, our lives are lacking in purpose; they are incomplete. Twain, however, seems as resigned in his opinions as those being observed, whom, we may imagine, are just as resigned to living lives by simply "mucking along."

What I mean is that underlying Twain's acerbic wit concerning the (so-called) "human condition," I detect a certain fatalism; that we are cursed with a sort of collective amnesia and it hinders our ability to analyze with much introspection into our broken condition as Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve. Still, what makes Twain's quotations so precious is that we recognize the human jack-ass of which he speaks at the same moment we recognize it is our humanity that allows us to realize such notions about ourselves and others. 

Moving to higher ground — 

The opportunity of discovering the simple truth (viz., who we are and how we govern ourselves), is found in the priceless adventure of living one’s life. Usually long stretches of time, experienced in an ongoing lifetime, are required for a person ultimately to find real and true life in communion with the Godhead. If that is so, this fact of life is the foundation for holding life itself so very dear, while engaging our liberty and pursuing true happiness.      

Following this line of thought, I'd say that honoring God by honoring ourselves and others animates our lives toward truth, goodness and beauty. If we conduct ourselves in accordance with virtue — with love, patience and tenacity — our lives are good. This simple formula is all I seek in my life. Ideally, it enables me to be strong-yet-meek, fortifying me with a willingness to endure any and all trials and tribulations. In short, this path is well-suited to be the basis for the happiness we pursue. 

Am I reading too much into these Mark Twain quotes? I probably am. Maybe I'm making them too complicated. And yet I imagine that something deeper must be lurking behind the simple truths in these quotations.   

So when I look out upon others — to see what they look like and to observe how they comport themselves — and I compare myself to them, I imagine that they, too, do the same with regard to me. Each of us is a walking, talking laboratory; each of us interacts with others, all of us always wondering as we reflect upon each others' words and deeds. The world around us is a grand smorgasbord of thoughts, feelings, impressions that are processed continually within a constant flow of action/reaction.

Because I believe that all human beings are entitled to live out their lives in order to self-realize what is touched upon herein, I love life and all that promotes it; I hold sacred all that is in harmony with life. While I accept death and the mortality of physical being as an inevitable and inescapable fact, I also keep in mind the immortality of the soul. (Thus it is that the spiritual aspect of my being is what prompts my pro-life stance. Babies, in utero or newly-born, are entitled to their lives, perhaps even more so than us older, less innocent mortals.)

Human beings must be accorded their unalienable rights to be free and to live their lives as they see fit, while according the same dignity to others and to respect all living creatures around them. This is what is known as The Golden Rule. Life is what allows us to develop our physical, mental and spiritual selves in both rudimentary and complex ways. This precious and mysterious time-span, allotted to each of us (to one extent or another), needs to be respected and not unduly interfered with by other people or human institutions.

This is a simple way forward, a simple credo. It is what has prompted me to stay on-guard against all institutions, public (i.e., government) and private (viz., non-profits and large corporate entities in particular). These overarching institutions employ individuals to administer and enforce their institutional objectives. But enforcement of unwarranted interference in people’s lives is evil; it contradicts everything that is good and right about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness by alienating the God-given unalienable rights of We the People; it gets in the way of Huck and Jim setting out down the Mississippi River and tends to put a kibosh on Tom Sawyer's motley adventures.

So when I ponder Mark Twain’s words of wit and wisdom I am comforted to know that some other human being has expressed his own suspicions and disaffection for the frailties of humans and their institutions. In fact, there's a Mark Twain built into the American soul. And if you don't think so, then you are probably the butt of the joke, easily discernible in Twain's above quotations!