Perhaps it is little noticed in our times, but it seems that comparatively few people use the words ‘beautiful,’ ‘good,’ ‘ugly,’ or ‘wrong’ to describe things or behaviors anymore. Rather, most things are labeled as ‘cool,’ ‘not cool,’ ‘fun,’ or ‘not fun.’ This observation leads me to wonder at the reason behind it, why society favors one form of expression over the other.
The answer may lie in the nature of the words themselves. Beauty, good, ugliness, and wrong are all absolute terms, whereas the words ‘fun’ and ‘cool’ are relative to people’s opinion. Though there can be greater or lesser degrees of the absolute terms, this does not compromise their absoluteness. And it is because the relative terms are relative that they may be used by different social groups to describe just about any thing or activity. For example, a beautiful sunset may be called ‘cool,’ and volunteering at a homeless shelter (a good work) may be called ‘fun’ by certain groups of people. Conversely, ugly art or music may also be considered ‘cool,’ and harmful and wrong actions such as binge drinking and drug abuse can be regarded as fun by other groups. Simply put, it is easier and more “open-minded” to use relative words instead of absolutes, which are less politically correct.
What makes something fun or cool? It is almost always the opinion of others besides ourselves, and generally a ‘majority rule.’ If a majority of a particular social group agrees that big sunglasses are cool, then they become accepted as such in that group. If a majority agrees that going to rock concerts and “getting buzzed” over the weekend is fun, then it is regarded as so. Consequently, what is considered ‘fun’ and ‘cool’ varies widely in different social contexts; the relative terms indicate the social acceptability of an action or thing, whereas the absolute terms describe the actual character of them.
All too often, social acceptability becomes our moral compass rather than the absolute morality of a thought, word, or deed. If everyone else thinks something is great, not too much can be wrong with it, right? And how many times has wild, excessive, or bad behavior been pointed out as such, and the excuse given: “Relax! We’re just having fun. Stop taking everything so seriously!” The eternal destination of souls should be taken seriously, and anything that may jeopardize them as well. If something one participates in is considered fun or cool, but is even slightly immoral, shouldn’t one avoid it? Don’t our souls matter more than any pleasure the body can experience or any opinion others may have of us?
Taking care of the soul doesn’t mean that one can never have fun though! On the contrary, being in union with God makes everything one does more enjoyable. There are plenty of healthy and good ways to have fun—however, they may be ways which are not socially viewed as fun or cool. It really takes a strong character to entertain oneself in good ways, in spite of others who call such entertainment ‘stupid,’ ‘dumb,’ or ‘lame.’
So, whenever we are having fun or entertaining ourselves, we should do a reality check. We should ask ourselves: “Here I am having fun—but is what I am doing wrong or harmful to others? Can I see a saint doing this?” If not, or even if the answer is maybe, we shouldn’t let the only reason to continue ‘having fun’ be that ‘nothing’s wrong with having fun.’ We know that what people label ‘fun’ can sometimes be bad for our souls. Let’s make it a habit to think of the actual absolute character of what we are participating in, whether it is bad or good, and call a spade a spade. Then, we can act according to God’s Will, rather than being guided solely by the relative ideas of ‘fun’ and ‘cool’!
Very interesting... I've never thought about it like that before. Thanks for the insight.
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