To be Young, Gifted, and Lonely

awakening : giftedness  | posted by Shaun O'Reilly

Lorraine Hansberry once wrote,

"The thing that makes you exceptional, if you are at all, is inevitably that which must also make you lonely."

Hansberry was the great African-American playwright who wrote A Raisin in the Sun.  I had to read Raisin in high-school, but I don't think I finished it or payed attention to the class discussion.  Taking an "American Drama" class at UTA brought it back to my class reading list and it was a great experience.  It's a great step to consider depth in writing, to begin to wonder and come to know from where an author is writing - what circumstance?  What life and history?  I think her quote sheds light on her life. This week I also began to learn about a man that I previously knew nothing about.  I think the quote could describe him too.  Noam Chomsky is truly an exceptional mind.  He has used that mind to seemingly separate himself from so many mainstream modern American morals.  I think it has inevitably made him "lonely" (I'm speculating here), at least in the sense of common popularity. My introduction to Chomsky has only come from the 1992 film Manufacturing Consent : Noam Chomsky and the Media.  It's a sort of documentary, full of excerpts of Noam speaking at many different engagments in colleges, town halls and on radio and television stations.  It has really made me think. Now, I don't know if this is the best format to delve into too many things Chomsky says - in fact, I've just barely scratched the surface of knowing much about him (he has written A LOT, and is widely criticized among scholars).  But learning of him did remind me of that Hansberry quote.  She wrote those words in her book, To be Young, Gifted, and Black, and I think it speaks volumes of a certain side to giftedness.  It's quite an exercise to ponder past "great minds" and see if this assumption fits.  What do you think?

technorati tags: LORRAINE HANSBERRY, GIFTEDNESS, NOAM CHOMSKY

Comments

[Reagan Pugh]

Before Mike Madden harnessed the gusto to make the trek to California, he and I were speaking one afternoon; actually, he spoke and I took copious notes. In that conversation we were trying to determine what my passion was and writing was one that seemed to come out of the woodwork. He asked me how someone becomes a good writer and I answered, “By reading…by taking classes?” He was unimpressed and he responded simply with, “A person becomes a good writer by writing. Just as someone becomes a good film maker by making films, etc.” He went on to explain to me that my passion was my responsibility and if I felt the need to write, then I should drop everything, wake up, leave or hide and write. Not only, he explained, was that a way of becoming a better writer, but if writing was a territory in which I wanted to stake a claim, I must write. I suppose in our conversation an individual’s passion is roughly equivalent to Hansberry’s idea of what makes an individual exceptional. I think what Mike was trying to get me to understand is that to find our passion or what makes us exceptional, we must escape and be lonely for a while. Since then, I’ve come to agree that there is no other way to hone that exceptional piece of who we are than to get to know it with objective and solitude.In my opinion, the assumption fits!

[s.o]

mike is already missed.Yeah, you're right. But I've been thinking about it like this too: watch the inflection in the statement - "the thing that makes you exceptional ... is inevitably that which must also make you lonely."In your situation, loneliness & solitude are contributing to your exceptionality (a word?). I do agree with you. And, I actually treasure that truth - that real, good, exceptional thoughts and gifts are many times enacted within silence and solitude. But I also take Hansberry's quote to really mean the order in which it's presented. The exceptional thing works to make one lonely. That's what I've been thinking about. And I think it could be seen as good and bad at the same time. But that's so cliche' ... we expect the great genius to be the lonely guy in the corner muttering poetry to himself and shitting his pants. I can see that around me; now I want to question it instead of immediately glorify it. By letting the geniuses be lonely, we might be letting ourselves off the hook of being the ones who go with them!Chomsky is a good example. I'm hoping more people listen to this guy - for the good of mankind! - and therefore he becomes less lonely. And I'm hoping to "take up my cross daily" and "follow" Christ - to not leave Him alone either.

[Reagan Pugh]

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[Reagan Pugh]

Sorry my response has taken so long, I guess I was waiting for life experiences to help me better understand your thoughts:This summer as an actor, I’m sought after and well liked by the campers; in this particular instance I’m coming to see that the conversations that I have with the youth are shallow, brief and come to no conclusions besides, “You’re so funny! Let’s take a picture!” And when I try to ask them what’s going on with their group or home life for the most part I get puzzled looks and quick attempts to back out of the conversation. Sometimes I have a good conversation, but they’re few and far between. It seems that the more this happens, the more I’m subconsciously closing myself out from the students. I can’t help but have that diseased feeling that their only motive in talking to me is because I’m on stage; and if you think about it, that pretty much is. I know this is nothing new, I know that any person who is in the limelight struggles with determining who their true friends are. I tried to examine this motive in my own life and it holds true: the only reason I have a desire to speak with the speakers or the bands is because they are in fact the speaker or the band. I don’t think that there is a way we can change this motive. In this case of our exceptionality (If it’s not a word, we’re both wrong) seducing our loneliness I can see what you are saying. I feel as if my ability to be up on the stage has created a sudden surge of potential new relationships and I’m plagued with a desire to dig deeper into them but seem to have no way to. Therefore I’m tempted more and more by the green room, my computer and my journal; loneliness.Is that how you see it? And what did you mean when you said, “By letting the geniuses be lonely, we might be letting ourselves off the hook of being the ones who go with them!”?

[Brian Rhea]

I love the quote, and that's a good observation Shaun...that the thing that makes a person exceptional works to make them lonely. I hadn't thought about it like that until you pointed it out.As far as Chomsky is concerned, we shouldn't "let ourselves off the hook" as you put it when it comes to doing something with what we know because of his exceptional and isolating work. I think putting this in to practice ties directly to what you're saying Reagan.One of Chomsky's messages is that some things cannot be delivered as a nicely packaged sound-bite. Sound-bites are superficial, they insult the complexity of the issue and are generally a waste of even the short time they've taken up.Is that how you're feeling about your conversations with the youth, Reagan? It sounds to me like the thing that's making you exceptional is not necessarily that you're on stage, but that you want to have meaningful conversations that arrive somewhere worth recalling.

[Reagan Pugh]

Brian,Yes, I do see the interaction that I have with youth as superficial and almost useless. I mean, I know that I’ll never see what God chooses to do with the events of this summer, but I can’t help but feel that way.I never looked at my desire to have worthwhile conversations as exceptional; in fact, I’ve probably viewed those desires as selfish on more than one occasion. I suppose my motive is for me to be fed, not the other way around as it should be. In implementing Shaun’s interpretation Hansberry’s quote to my circumstances I viewed acting as the vessel that enabled me to have the conversations. This summer I have been wondering if I’d have as many opportunities to speak with students if I had different responsibilities on the team. But maybe the desire is all that needs to be present for conversations worth recalling to occur.If the desire to have meaningful conversations does merit exceptionality, do you think that desire could work to make one lonely?

[s.o]

Okay, Okay, Okay ... sorry I haven't been able to join in recently! But I think you guys are right on!I think her quote refers to the exceptional things in life that are congruently difficult - at least difficult for the mainstream, go-with-the-flow mentality. That is why the gift bring loneliness. It can be very difficult to follow that exceptional gift, even when you know it is a good truth (i.e. - Jesus' buddies who couldn't stay up to pray with the Son of God). It can leave you lonely. So, yeah, I think the desire to have meaningful conversations is completely good, people agree that it's good, but it's also different and challenging (therefore, difficult) and so leaves only a few at the table partaking of said conversation. It can be a lonely business.And, that's how Hansberry's phrase works. She uses the word "exceptional" - with the root "exception" : The act of excepting or the condition of being excepted; exclusion.If Chomsky, Hansberry, Rhea, and Pugh are all "exceptions to the rule" (and, they are!) ... they might find more loneliness than they had when NOT exercising their gifts.But, they're always welcome here! :) Together, we form yet another exception. ps - that's a good band name --- yet another exception

[Reagan Pugh]

Bring on the loneliness!Reagan-oh yeah, I'm at goodpancreas.com now

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