Sunday, February 20, 2011

What time is the 3'0 clock parade?

I ain't looking for praise or pity
I ain't coming round searching for a crutch
I just want someone to talk to
And a little of that human touch
Just a little of that human touch
- Lyrics for Bruce Springsteen's Human Touch

Freudian analysis has faded away as a valid way of studying the human psyche because it paid too much attention to the dark motivations of the human "id" and too little to the simple yearnings of the human soul.
Avoiding loneliness and seeking human warmth is the central motivating tenet of human civilization. Cavemen huddled besides the fire not just because of economies of scale. Being childlike is when you express this need without guile. Childishness is when you let it make you a page three neurotic. To us ordinary mortals it is the seeking and nurturing of friends and families. The evolved answer this need at the highest level- by being one with the world and thus banishing loneliness, root and branch.
In Disney's amusement parks the question that visitor's most frequently ask of park personnel is "What time is the 3'0 clock parade?". The park personnel recognize the question for what it is - yet another tendril looking for human contact and warmth and are trained to answer to engage with civility: "It is best if you take your position by 2 30pm near Jo's for the best view of the parade"

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