Page 84 - The Debased Culture of Superficiality

82 THE DEBASED CULTURE OF SUPERFICIALITY

is always in his heart and mind. Whether he listens to loud
music, watching television, or playing games in a crowded,
noisy environment, his conscience and attentiveness remain
keen. For this reason, he takes great pleasure from his enter-
tainment.
People like to watch a wise person laugh and being enter-
tained. But the things shallow people laugh at and how they
laugh is superficial. How shallow people laugh is not pleas-
ant to the ear, and others do not enjoy listening to it.
It’s very important to understand what superficiality is,
from the point of view of its sense of humor and enjoyment.
Of two people sharing the same entertainment, one may live
by superficial culture, while the other may not—because
superficiality is a philosophy, not limited to just a few ways
of behaving and speaking. A person may laugh sponta-
neously, but his intelligence and depth of understanding
make him different from superficial people. For this reason,
a shallow sense of entertainment or shallow laughter should
not be misunderstood. Natural laughter arising from inti-
macy is not shallow; natural enjoyment is good in itself.
Avoiding superficiality does not restrict this naturalness.
But superficiality does not come from naturalness and inti-
macy; but from a closed conscience, from not being aware of
the negative effect of jokes and laughter, from being immod-
erate and going to extremes.
Some people think that avoiding superficiality implies a
false seriousness with cold, artificial smiles. One person in a
rich society may laugh in an affected manner, while another
in an uneducated circle may have a vulgar laughter. But, in