Bozo the Clown and History

Many times readers have been privy to my thoughts about the state of history in the public arena. It's scant and scarce. It hardly registers - or counts for that matter - on the grander scale of our lives.

The television stayed fixed on one channel for a while as we scurried around tidying the house. Eventually, a rest was earned and a Seinfeld rerun happened to be on. It was the episode where George ran from a fire as he pushed aside the elderly and children without prejudice. Funny stuff.

However, while the show was filled with hilarious moments (Kramer's saving a pinky toe story comes to mind), a humourous and innocuous conversation between George and a clown caught my attention.

"You're hung up on a clown from the 60s man!" was the clown's response to George's disbelief that the former had never heard of Bozo the Clown.

In that small interlude something very interesting was revealed. That it is not necessary to have a sense of connection to anything much less your job. A job is just that; a job. An accountant is not expected to know the history of double entry book-keeping when he is hired. He or she may have glossed over some historical aspects of Florentine or Dutch capitalism but not more than that.

Listening to a local sports show or reading a columnist it stuns to observe how ill-equipped some people are in talking about certain topics they are supposed to be experts at. Worse, they hardly feel history is important. If they were not present then who cares?

So, what we get are a collection of contemporary discussions that amount to very little. There's no depth or substance. No sense or feel of anything. And for those who do know their stuff, because of time constraints or the need to focus on immediate considerations, little of this knowledge is ever transferred to listeners. One should never have to be in a position where they feel they know more than the person with the mic. Alas, often this is the sad case.

Not so long ago a manager told me, "Hey, you really know history" after I offered some various marketing suggestions. All I did was convey some banking history to everyone that I felt was very relevant. Not that they ever figured out how to use the asset they had under their noses. Much of what I ever said was hardly ever considered. I was more of an outsider with the core inner banking sanctum.

I preferred it that way. Needless to say, I moved on to semi-greener pastures as I try to put my talents to practical (and financial) use.

Back to the clown. If there was a pride of labour (or labour of love) he would have known who Bozo was. We don't condition or teach our kids enough about the merits and incalculable benefits of acquiring knowledge. If there is no ends to the means then there is no point is the prevailing view and attitude.

This is a wrongheaded way to approach life. One should always be hungry (if not starving) and endowed with a healthy curiosity for information and knowledge.