For the last couple of classes we have talked about Jonathan Swift and his view on satire.  He has a famous quote in which he essentially says that in the world, satire is like a glass where you can see everyone else’s reflection except for your own.  This is funny because it’s contradictory in itself, in the sense that satire is supposed to “make fun” of something or someone for the audience to see, but because people don’t see their own reflections, or refuse to, it doesn’t apply to themselves.  This quote is very interesting because I think it really brushes on what a majority of the people in our society are sub-consciously like.  People are able to see the flaws and wrong-doings of the others around them, but when it comes to assessing ourselves, it takes a little more effort to pick out the flaws.  I’d like to think it’s human nature, because we can observe from the outside, but what’s inside of us is hard to really observe and address because it’s happening in the moment.

The way I look at it is just like sports.  I’ve played basketball for most of my life and I’ve also coached and referee’d before as well.  Being a player as oppose to, say a coach, is very very different.  When a coach is talking to his players, he tells them what they’re doing well and he also addresses the flaws and tells his players how to correct them.  But as a player, it’s much more difficult to assess the flaws and correct them right on the spot because you’re in the thick of things, trying to do so much at once.  Of course it’s more difficult than someone just watching and nit-picking.

This is the same when comparing a person’s view on the people around them as oppose to themselves.  We’re watching the world around us, making it easy to say what should be done and what should happen or be improved, etc.  But when it comes to addressing ourselves, we are definitely biased, making it a little more difficult.  I think that’s what Jonathan Swift’s view on, not only satire, but in life is, and I think he has a very strong point.