We the People: It’s Not That Simple

In Walden, or Life in the Woods, Henry David Thoreau encourages us to “simplify, simplify.” It’s sound wisdom. The reason being there’s a strong correlation between complexity in one’s life and their allostatic load. When one simplifies, they have less to tend with and worry about. The problem is that in our increasingly complicated society, and by extension our personal lives, simplifying is not as simple a process as it was in Thoreau’s day.

Seniors who accept they’re performing their life’s last act model simplifying by downsizing and purging material possessions. But that’s on a scale of one, even if a multitude is doing it. When it comes to solving problems in an interactive society of 300 million-plus people and world of eight billion-plus people, simplification becomes far more complex.

The ancient Greeks’ legend about the Gordian Knot offers insight. According to the myth, the knot was so intricately interwoven by King Gordius it was believed that it was nearly impossible for anyone to unknot it. Alexander the Great dealt with the problem in his own mercurial way: He whacked it in two with his mighty sword. Clever, but he really didn’t solve the problem. He simply dispensed with it. Nevertheless, the knot and petulant Alexander’s “solution” have become a metaphor for solving life’s complexities.  

Apparently, the idiomatic phrase “cut to the chase” originated about 100 years ago in Hollywood with film editors splicing chase scenes between slower-paced ones to enliven a story. Interestingly, a century later the script’s been flipped. It’s more like editors splicing in slower-paced scenes, ones with meaningful dialogue, between endless mind-numbing action.

Consider hunger. Fast food provides a quick, simple solution despite it being horribly unhealthy. But nutrition be damned, it’s the carbs that count. The increasing stresses on Americans’ bodies, from obesity to hypertension, show it. And therein lies a stark picture of our impatient, hectic, mad-dashing culture.

Cutting to the chase and food on demand speak volumes about the American mindset: We want quick, simple solutions to complex problems. But great issues and challenges, whether in one’s personal life or at the national level, are almost always complex even though on the surface they might seem simple. The reason is that it took many factors to weave themselves over time into a Gordian Knot.

How many times has someone with good intentions offered advice about an entanglement you’re caught up in that has, in their opinion, a straightforward solution? Then after hearing them out, you shake your head and reply, “It’s not that simple.” The same holds true for socio-political issues from the national deficit and balancing the budget to immigration and safety-net programs.

We’re not a nation of simpletons, but we’re increasingly becoming a simple-minded, black-and-white, cut-to-the-chase, want-it-now people. One cause is the way popular culture promotes simplicity, even in entertainment. It’s true that we like stories with lots of twists and turns, but they tend anymore to be in relation to the plot rather than the characters’ natures and the relationships between characters.

Compare, for example, two award-winning films: Casablanca and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade both of which I love rewatching. Casablanca is not an adventurous tale, but Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is as it careens from one action-packed episode to another. But when it’s over, even though the viewer might be entertainingly sated, they’re not left wondering about any character’s character. That’s because it’s a retelling of the classic good v. evil storyline. They might be surprised by the revelation of the sleazy Nazi character, but once that’s known, they know it’s not going to end well for him. How could it? The ever-faithful seven-hundred-year-old knight’s dry observation—“He chose…poorly.”—nails it.

Casablanca, while crisp and well-paced, is a far more complicated tale. The main character, played by Humphrey Bogart, is not easily defined like Indiana Jones. Throughout the movie, he’s called six different names—Rick, Richard, Ricky, Mr. Rick, Herr Rick and boss— each conveying an archetypal connotation. Adding to the mystery of Rick are the dynamics of the interrelationship he has with Ilsa and Victor Lazlo.

The stories also contrast. In “Trickstering: Casablanca and Resistance,” Leigh Melander, PhD describes Casablanca as an “ongoing dance between compliance and complicity, self-interest and selflessness, courage and defiance.” Timeless themes playing out on black-and-white celluloid offering a penetrating view of what’s currently playing in living color on America’s socio-political IMAX.

The fact is life is not cut and dry. It’s complicated. It’s true the KISS—Keep It Simple Stupid—approach is at times apt. But when applied to complex problems, the outcome is often not only unsatisfactory, it likely means going back to square one and beginning anew.