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Editorial
March 3, 1959
The Key West Citizen
Key West, Monroe County, Florida
What is this article about?
Hal Boyle philosophically critiques humanity's tendency to self-inflict misery, focusing on how unprecedented American prosperity fosters petulance, fear, and dissatisfaction despite material abundance, urging reconnection with life's meaning.
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Hal Boyle Says-
NEW YORK (AP) - Curbstone comments of a Pavement Platoon:
Man has one talent that separates him from the other animals -the art of making himself miserable.
He is the only animal that will turn his back on joy and make himself deliberately unhappy.
He is the only animal that invents his own troubles, manufactures unnecessary woes, and makes an industry out of feeling sorry for himself.
He is the only animal for whom too much is never enough.
Man survives the earthquake and the tornado then lets himself be gnawed to death by mental gnats.
Time erodes man less than he frets himself away.
One of the things he yearns for most-prosperity-is the thing he seems least able to stand. It rots his endurance and mildews his bravery. There is considerable truth to the saying. "There is nothing yellower than a million dollars."
Certainly prosperity, more than conscience, makes cowards of us all today. No nation in history has known a greater, deeper, more widespread prosperity than the American nation has now.
But prosperity has made us petulant rather than content, uneasy rather than confident. Instead of confirming us in our strength it has tended to make us more fearful of another's power. We doubt ourselves in ways we shouldn't. We seem, sometimes, less sure of ourselves than when times were harder.
The curse of prosperity isn't that we can't take it with us when we go. It is that prosperity doesn't seem to make us happy here, while we have it.
As a people we feel a bit betrayed and cheated because of an amazing discovery: "Money isn't everything." We always said aloud we knew this. but in our hearts we secretly felt that if we just had enough money we would have just about everything we needed.
We can pull a handle and see an icebox full of more food than we can eat. We can push a button and change the indoor climate from cold to warm. We can turn a knob and hear the world's finest (and worst!) music. and watch the world's highest paid entertainers.
But it is not enough. Something is missing.
What do we miss? What is the meaning we have lost? How can we regain it? We set out to build a paradise and instead fashioned a prison, barred by war.
How can we get out?
Perhaps it would help if we all went out. one by one. into a hillside orchard. sat for a whole day under an apple tree in bloom. and thought the problem of life all through again.
NEW YORK (AP) - Curbstone comments of a Pavement Platoon:
Man has one talent that separates him from the other animals -the art of making himself miserable.
He is the only animal that will turn his back on joy and make himself deliberately unhappy.
He is the only animal that invents his own troubles, manufactures unnecessary woes, and makes an industry out of feeling sorry for himself.
He is the only animal for whom too much is never enough.
Man survives the earthquake and the tornado then lets himself be gnawed to death by mental gnats.
Time erodes man less than he frets himself away.
One of the things he yearns for most-prosperity-is the thing he seems least able to stand. It rots his endurance and mildews his bravery. There is considerable truth to the saying. "There is nothing yellower than a million dollars."
Certainly prosperity, more than conscience, makes cowards of us all today. No nation in history has known a greater, deeper, more widespread prosperity than the American nation has now.
But prosperity has made us petulant rather than content, uneasy rather than confident. Instead of confirming us in our strength it has tended to make us more fearful of another's power. We doubt ourselves in ways we shouldn't. We seem, sometimes, less sure of ourselves than when times were harder.
The curse of prosperity isn't that we can't take it with us when we go. It is that prosperity doesn't seem to make us happy here, while we have it.
As a people we feel a bit betrayed and cheated because of an amazing discovery: "Money isn't everything." We always said aloud we knew this. but in our hearts we secretly felt that if we just had enough money we would have just about everything we needed.
We can pull a handle and see an icebox full of more food than we can eat. We can push a button and change the indoor climate from cold to warm. We can turn a knob and hear the world's finest (and worst!) music. and watch the world's highest paid entertainers.
But it is not enough. Something is missing.
What do we miss? What is the meaning we have lost? How can we regain it? We set out to build a paradise and instead fashioned a prison, barred by war.
How can we get out?
Perhaps it would help if we all went out. one by one. into a hillside orchard. sat for a whole day under an apple tree in bloom. and thought the problem of life all through again.
What sub-type of article is it?
Moral Or Religious
Social Reform
What keywords are associated?
Human Misery
Prosperity Curse
American Unease
Self Inflicted Woes
Material Dissatisfaction
Existential Reflection
What entities or persons were involved?
Hal Boyle
American Nation
Editorial Details
Primary Topic
The Curse Of Prosperity And Human Misery
Stance / Tone
Reflective Critique
Key Figures
Hal Boyle
American Nation
Key Arguments
Man Uniquely Makes Himself Miserable By Inventing Troubles
Prosperity Rots Endurance And Makes Cowards
American Prosperity Breeds Petulance And Fear Rather Than Contentment
Money Isn't Everything, Leading To Betrayal
Modern Conveniences Fail To Satisfy
Humanity Built A Paradise But Fashioned A Prison Barred By War
Suggestion To Reflect Under An Apple Tree To Regain Meaning