TV comedy writers have given us many lines and situations we can share at parties by revisiting favorite programs in memory and laughing together. You probably have your favorites you share with your friends. Of course, for someone not a fan of your favorite program, it’s a matter of “you-had-to-be-there-to-get-it.” So, at the risk of being one of those carrying around a situation from a comedy series that “outsiders” might not appreciate, I want to recall at our virtual party a line by Kramer from Seinfeld.
Lost in Manhattan (this is that part where I try to somehow get you into gist of the program vicariously), Kramer, a somewhat loopy character, calls Seinfeld to ask for help. When Jerry asks him where he is, Kramer says, “I’m at First and First. I must be at the nexus of the universe.” Okay, in my retelling, I fail to recapture the comedic nature of the situation for people unfamiliar with the TV series. You had to be there.
But being at the corner of First and First is your situation—everyone’s situation. We’re all at the corner of First and First, regardless of where we are and when we are. Your ancient ancestors also stood at the same corner, and your descendants will stand there, too. Sounds strange and anti-comedic, all of us lumped together at the corner of First and First: But if, as seems certain at this time, the universe began as a singularity smaller than a proton, then everything in the universe, regardless of when it was or is and where it was or is, was on the corner of First in Space and First in Time.
This is both troubling and uplifting. Troubling because everyone has a primacy in space and time; there is no “secondacy.” Uplifting because you are as significant in space and time as anyone who ever lived, now lives, or will live. With regard to existence, we’re all the same, and no one holds some special title. All have a common origin at First and First.
That also means that all of us—past, present, and future—have an inherent similar value of existence. So, where do our differences originate? When we judge one another and assign value, it isn’t on the basis of our shared origin. Rather, like that tax we place on goods and services called VAT, we establish a Value Added Existence.
Now, there’s no escaping the VAE imposed by societies. People have always judged others on VAE. But like any good or service, the value depends on the context. Cars have value because they get us from place to place, but they are useless on 71% of Earth’s surface, where boats obtain their value. Value Added changes not only with place, but also with time. That’s especially true of fashion. Shoulder pads incorporated into dresses in the 1980s lost value; in 2017 many women wore dresses with bare shoulders. (Yes, fashions recycle; values return; some designers have reincorporated shoulder pads into desirable dresses)
If we know that VAE is transitory, then we might consider value from that nexus of First and First. It lies in all of us, regardless of what we do or how we are perceived. And when we look at VAE, we might consider putting it in context, recognizing that whatever its basis, it will change.
Lost in Manhattan (this is that part where I try to somehow get you into gist of the program vicariously), Kramer, a somewhat loopy character, calls Seinfeld to ask for help. When Jerry asks him where he is, Kramer says, “I’m at First and First. I must be at the nexus of the universe.” Okay, in my retelling, I fail to recapture the comedic nature of the situation for people unfamiliar with the TV series. You had to be there.
But being at the corner of First and First is your situation—everyone’s situation. We’re all at the corner of First and First, regardless of where we are and when we are. Your ancient ancestors also stood at the same corner, and your descendants will stand there, too. Sounds strange and anti-comedic, all of us lumped together at the corner of First and First: But if, as seems certain at this time, the universe began as a singularity smaller than a proton, then everything in the universe, regardless of when it was or is and where it was or is, was on the corner of First in Space and First in Time.
This is both troubling and uplifting. Troubling because everyone has a primacy in space and time; there is no “secondacy.” Uplifting because you are as significant in space and time as anyone who ever lived, now lives, or will live. With regard to existence, we’re all the same, and no one holds some special title. All have a common origin at First and First.
That also means that all of us—past, present, and future—have an inherent similar value of existence. So, where do our differences originate? When we judge one another and assign value, it isn’t on the basis of our shared origin. Rather, like that tax we place on goods and services called VAT, we establish a Value Added Existence.
Now, there’s no escaping the VAE imposed by societies. People have always judged others on VAE. But like any good or service, the value depends on the context. Cars have value because they get us from place to place, but they are useless on 71% of Earth’s surface, where boats obtain their value. Value Added changes not only with place, but also with time. That’s especially true of fashion. Shoulder pads incorporated into dresses in the 1980s lost value; in 2017 many women wore dresses with bare shoulders. (Yes, fashions recycle; values return; some designers have reincorporated shoulder pads into desirable dresses)
If we know that VAE is transitory, then we might consider value from that nexus of First and First. It lies in all of us, regardless of what we do or how we are perceived. And when we look at VAE, we might consider putting it in context, recognizing that whatever its basis, it will change.
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