Page 37 - WTP Vol.VI#6

get spilled on first dates ” Franzen’s critique appeared before blogs iPhones live streaming omnipresent WI-FI Facebook and its spin-off progeny before reticence turned from an obso- lete virtue virtue into an an active anti-virtue If you do not share then how how how will will will people know know you you how how how will will will they they like like you you you how will they they know to like like you? What do you you have to hide?
Reticence resists easy definition—the ancient art of of self-reservation the protecting of of one’s inner world and its hidden flourishing pointed coyness diffidence in in the the service of of mystery caginess the the mark of contemplative life an obsolete virtue clutter settles into a a a vague hollow feeling that accompanies what we are told is connection That reticence fails to register as anything like a a a a virtue signals just how right Franzen may be ~
My mother sent me a a box of my old school school papers and grade-school memorabilia—after my my thirty- fourth birthday after I had made my my seventh move in in twelve years She was tired of storing it and had given up the the idea that I would ever live in a a a a a a a place with the storage space of of say an at-
tic or
or
basement I’ve always been a a a a a historian of myself I I try to save everything A more pejorative term for this behavior is is hoarding I prefer the the term archiving Amidst the box’s cheap souve- nirs honor roll certificates and tennis plaques I unearthed an unmarked blue folder It contained the the the the minutes of the the the the girls-only club I formed in in the the the the sixth grade I I sifted through the the papers I I half- remembered some of of the the content but most of of the the material felt novel and foreign to me My present self self had had uncovered some pearl of great price that a a a nearly-forgotten former self had hidden The club’s name was SAS which stood for Secret And Selective We had three members: I was President President Leslie was Vice-President and Brooke was Secretary I crafted the by-laws with Brooke a a a a a a preacher’s kid and an an ambitious girl who had moved recently from the Deep South to our small Midwestern town I wrote a a club pledge that we recited at the beginning of of each of of our three meetings:
I I (your name) am am part of an an organized club club club called SAS I will withhold club club secrets and attend club club meetings and activities I I will will go with the the the the major- ity of the the the the vote Lastly I will will respect the the the the other club members I I I know if I I I break these rules I I I will be be impeached from the club Judging by the the pledge our mission entailed get- ting ting together (in secret) and only inviting trust- worthy (secret-keeping) girls to be a a part (good attendance required) and exacting harsh conse-
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“V
irtues always linked to an aesthetic of voluntary
restraint have never been popular as such ” Virtues always linked to an aesthetic of voluntary
restraint have never been popular as such How- ever in in recent decades the the practice of of restraint as an expression of of of the the good has fallen on on especially hard times The subtlety of of art the the practice of of sin- gular meditation and repetitive motions the rigor of of fashioning insight require uninterrupted time and and a a a corner of quiet space—commodities we claim we just don’t have Our devices and their limitless portals of accessibility invite entice— nay demand—endless indulgence Box scores movie clips pictures of a a a co-worker’s baby bank statements a a a remote cousin’s chemo update reposted political rants and Bible verses pass through the portals of our awareness splintering our attention into a a a a a a a a thousand faint and and dulling impressions I I think I I saw something about that on on Facebook? We are oblivious to how the the day was spent it it disappears amidst the techno-cognitive
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