A few days ago I had no idea who Louis CK was and really didn’t care. A friend sent me a u-tube video of this gent talking with talk show host Conan O’Brien. The things that he said really got my attention.

 

I googled CK to see who this guy was and found that he was born to a Mexican mother and Hungarian father. The last name is Szekely, which is pronounced closely as C K, so he calls himself C K since nobody gets his name right. Turns out that he is an author, director, producer, and a stand-up comedian that calls his style observational humor.

 

He was reflecting on how things have changed in our lives so rapidly and our responses to the change. He says, “everything is amazing and nobody’s happy”.  There is a lot of truth in that.  For instance, a few years ago we didn’t even have a cell phone and now if we leave the house and forget it on the way to the store, we make a u-turn and go get it. The cell phone has become a fixed appendage to most of us. Yours truly included.  We as a society have become intolerant of any inconvenience. Inventors, manufacturers, and tech companies continually produce devices and gadgets of convenience that we take for granted the day we buy them. Most of us remember that we actually had to use dictionaries and Encyclopedia Britannica to complete our school projects. Now one simply makes a few keystrokes on the computer and all we need is before our eyes.

 

Louis CK is right; we have become very spoiled and intolerant. In the old days, the King had a court jester to “keep it real”. It is said that the jester is the only one that could question the Kings’ judgment without fear of persecution. (I suspect the Queen had some say as well – things haven’t changed that much!) 

 

Our generation has hundreds of times more of the items that supposedly make life easier and more comfortable than even our parents did. Comparatively, our grandparents were in the Stone Age. They thought the radio was a big deal. Grandma probably had to hang the laundry out on a line to dry. Life was much harder for them because of the lack of conveniences, but they were tolerant and considerate of others. Having all of the gadgets doesn’t necessarily make us a happier generation. Yep, we are spoiled. Louis CK is a modern day jester. Perhaps if we try a little tolerance the next time everything doesn’t go exactly our way, maybe we might find more happiness. Thanks to CK for “keepin’ it real”.