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Posts Tagged ‘Eric Hoffer’

Dissatisfied

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , on July 18, 2025| 3 Comments »

“They are all in the same category, both those who are afflicted with fickleness, boredom and a ceaseless change of purpose, and who always yearn for what they left behind, and those who just yawn from apathy. There are those too who toss around like insomniacs, and keep changing their position until they find rest through sheer weariness. They keep altering the condition of their lives, and eventually stick to that one in which they are trapped not by weariness with further change but by old age which is too sluggish for novelty. There are those too who suffer not from moral steadfastness but from inertia, and so lack the fickleness to live as they wish, and just live as they have begun. In fact there are innumerable characteristics of the malady, but one effect – dissatisfaction with oneself. This arises from mental instability and from fearful and unfulfilled desires, when men do not dare or do not achieve all they long for, and all they grasp at is hope: they are always unbalanced and fickle, an inevitable consequence of living in suspense. They struggle to gain their prayers by every path, and they teach and force themselves to do dishonourable and difficult things; and when their efforts are unrewarded the fruitless disgrace tortures them, and they regret not the wickedness but the frustration of their desires. Then they are gripped by repentance for their attempt and fear of trying again, and they are undermined by the restlessness of a mind that can discover no outlet, because they can neither control nor obey their desires, by the dithering of life that cannot see its way ahead, and by the lethargy of a soul stagnating amid its abandoned hopes.”

― Seneca, On the Shortness of Life

I haven’t written any kind of diatribe in recent months. Still feeling under the weather but felt that I needed to let this one out, some of it written several months ago, before the 2024 election, and some in the months after the January 6 riot in 2021. I have not shared it here and know that it’s out of my normal lane, but I needed to have my say this morning. Like we all do once in a while.

I was reading an article that referenced the essay De Brevitate Vitae (On the Shortness of Life) from the Stoic philosopher Seneca that written sometime around 49 AD. The passage above really struck me because it seemed to describe the dissatisfaction so many people have with their lives and the actions that result from this.

I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it feels like the underlying current of what we’re seeing take place these days in this country. There is a lot of dissatisfaction that has morphed into anger among predominantly white middle-class men, which has been nurtured and encouraged by right-wing billionaires who seek to ride this angry tide to power.

But the question remains: Why are they so angry and what do they want?

They are, by and large, not the downtrodden nor poor. They are not without voice or political power. There’s a high probability that most of them have good livelihoods and assets that place them well above that of the average American.

They are not trying to gain rights for themselves. And certainly not fighting for the rights of others whose rights have been denied. If anything, they are angry because they believe that the others are attempting to get same rights that these guys have enjoyed for their entire lives.

They are not fighting true injustice or inequality. Far from it. If anything, they are fighting against justice and equality for all.

And if they succeed with their crusades of anger, they have no plans for a future. Certainly not a future that will be in any way better for most people.

All they have is anger and dissatisfaction with their lot in life. As entitled and privileged as they are in relation to most others, their lives lack purpose and meaning. It is a spoiled and bored existence, devoid of real consequences for bad behavior and fortified by the highs and unreality of video games, reality television, and action flicks that develops into their undeserved bravado, cosplay costuming, and an absolute trust in conspiracy over evidence so long as it suits their needs.

And that’s a recipe for disaster. Lacking meaning and purpose in life makes them susceptible to those who appeal to their sense of grievance, serving it up as a substitute for hope. As the Longshoreman Philosopher Eric Hoffer put it in his 1955 book, The Passionate State of Mind:

To have a grievance is to have a purpose in life. A grievance can almost serve as a substitute for hope; it not infrequently happens that those who hunger for hope give their allegiance to him who offers them a grievance.

This echoes a similar thought Hoffer put forth is his 1951 book on cults and mass movements, The True Believer, which was primarily written in reference to the Nazi and Fascist movements of WWII:

Passionate hatred can give meaning and purpose to an empty life. Thus people haunted by the purposelessness of their lives try to find a new content not only by dedicating themselves to a holy cause but also by nursing a fanatical grievance. A mass movement offers them unlimited opportunities for both.

This appeal to grievance in place of hope has been the obvious gameplan of the GOP and its totalitarian loving leader for years now.

I could be wrong here, but don’t think so. I wrote some of the above a few years back just after the January 6 riot., referring to the insurrectionists who descended upon the Capitol Building. I don’t think much of what I wrote then has been disproven in any way. I still have no idea why they are so angry or what they really want, outside of the freedom to be openly hateful and cruel. And they still have not exhibited a single plan that would work for a better future for anybody, themselves included.

Well, the billionaire class would be even better off and that is all that really matters once you sworn your allegiance to it.

It feels like they want to revel in their anger and dissatisfaction, using it as an engine for retribution against the others, those people on whom they seek to place responsibility for their own shortcomings. To use their sense of grievance as a rationale for the release and satisfaction they find in their cruelty.

Here’s a topical song, Unsatisfied, a favorite of mine from The Replacements and their very satisfying 1984 album Let It Be.

Be careful out there and have a good day.

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Hoffer/ Absolutes

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on April 18, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Seeking Imperfection– 2001

Free men are aware of the imperfection inherent in human affairs, and they are willing to fight and die for that which is not perfect. They know that basic human problems can have no final solutions, that our freedom, justice, equality, etc. are far from absolute, and that the good life is compounded of half measures, compromises, lesser evils, and gropings toward the perfect. The rejection of approximations and the insistence on absolutes are the manifestation of a nihilism that loathes freedom, tolerance, and equity.

–Eric Hoffer, The Temper of Our Time (1967)

Several times I’ve shared the words of Eric Hoffer, the Longshoreman Philosopher as he was sometimes called who died in 1983 at the age 80. He had a way of stating complex idea in a straightforward manner. His 1951 book The True Believer, which sets out his theories on the rise of mass movements– most notably extreme political movements and cults– and the dangers they pose, is widely considered a classic of social psychology. You can read it and see many parallels to the

This particular passage spoke to me immediately when I came across it a few years back. It was something that seemed to be proving itself in real time with what we were and are experiencing here. It is a situation that might be described simply as a struggle between those who see things only in absolute terms and those who understand that there are few if any absolutes in an imperfect world such as ours.

A battle between unfounded certainty and founded uncertainty. True belief and true doubt.

Needless to say, Hoffer’s passage felt spot on for me, a creature who dwells in uncertainty. I could feel the truth in his words, particularly that last sentence: The rejection of approximations and the insistence on absolutes are the manifestation of a nihilism that loathes freedom, tolerance, and equity.

This one sentence might be the best description of the horror show we are experiencing first-hand.

Not sure why I am sharing this this morning. This passage has been sitting in my drafts file for a long time now and it just felt right this morning, a simple understanding of what we are witnessing, though I doubt any of you need to have it clarified for you.

Anyway, there it is. And here’s a song that speaks to uncertainty in equally simple terms. It’s What’s Happening?!?! by the Byrds from back in 1966, around the same time as Hoffer’s words. Nearly sixty years later and it is the same story. Nihilism then is nihilism now…

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Inner/Outer Voices

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on October 11, 2024| Leave a Comment »

gc-myers-early-figure

What are we when we are alone? Some, when they are alone, cease to exist.

—Eric Hoffer

I’ve spent a tremendous amount of time alone in my studio over the years. Literally, tens and tens of thousands of hours in solitude. It has been time that has allowed me to close myself off in a certain way from the outer world and create the inner world that I show in my work. But occasionally the outer world breaks through and my simple solitude is shaken. I find myself caught between the outer world and my inner creation, my inner being.  

It’s a frustrating time and it becomes hard to focus in order to find that inner world. It’s been that way recently but I keep pushing for it and know that it will return soon. I am reminded of the post below from a few years ago that deals with being alone.

I was recently contacted by author for use of one of my images for inclusion in his upcoming book. It was an old image, one that I still possessed and had used on this blog, so I began to go through my files to find it. Shuffling through the old work, many from before I began exhibiting publicly, brought a number of surprises. There were pieces, like this one here on the right, that had slipped my mind and seeing them rekindled instant recognition and memory, like stumbling upon an old acquaintance who you had not thought of in ages. But there were others that had been lost in my memory and seeing them still only vaguely brought traces of their origin, as though you were again coming across someone who knew you, but you couldn’t quite remember them even though there was something familiar in them, something that told you that you once knew them.

Looking at these old pieces made me think of all the time spent alone with these images. The quote above from Eric Hoffer came to mind. What are we when we are alone? Is that the real you? Or is the real you that person that interacts with all the outside world?  Looking at these pieces, I began to think that the person I was when I was alone had evolved slowly over the years, becoming closer to one entity. What I mean is that the person I was when I was alone, my inner voice, did not always jibe with my outer voice and over time, especially as I have found a true voice in my work, has come closer and closer to becoming one and the same.

I don’t know if I can explain that with any clarity. It’s a feel thing, one that instantly comes from holding one of these paintings and still seeing the division that once was in them and in myself.  It is not anything to do with quality or subject or process. It’s just a perceived feeling in the piece, an intangible that maybe only I can sense.  But it’s there and it makes me appreciate the journey and the work that brought these two voices closer together.

My alone time immersed in these pieces has seldom felt lonely and, going back to Hoffer’s quote, never did I feel that I ceased to exist in my oneness. I know people who are like that, that need constant connection and interaction in order to feel alive and vital, but for me it has often felt almost the opposite. That probably is a result of that division of my inner and outer voices that I have been trying to describe. When I was alone, I was always comfortable with my inner voice and the work that resulted from it served in the forms of companions.

I definitely exist in my solitude and my work, my constant companion, is my proof.

I am going to stop now. Enough confession for one morning.  I have new companions on the easel to which I must attend.

This was a replay of a replay from back in 2017. Its message hasn’t changed a bit in the intervening years. Maybe I am just using it as pretense to play a song, The Inside Man. that I played here a few years back. I have no idea about its title’s meaning but for today it refers to the inner being. It’s a piece I came across awhile back, a piece of dance music from a Croatian DJ/ musician, Funky Destination. There’s something in it that always both focuses me and stirs me up– at least that inner part of me. The inside man…

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The Longshoreman Philosopher/ Replay

Posted in Current Events, Favorite Things, tagged on January 17, 2017| 1 Comment »

I picked up a copy of The True Believer by Eric Hoffer several years ago.  First published in 1951, it contains thoughts from the self-taught philosopher on the nature of fanaticism and mass movements, from the early Christians up through the world altering political movements of the first half of the 20th century such as Communism, Nationalism and Fascism. With the election of he-who-will-not-be named, this book has come back into the public discussion and I have seen it cited in a number of articles.  It’s finally next up on my reading list.

Hoffer (1898-1983) was a self-taught thinker with a knack for seeing the tides and patterns that swirl beneath the surface of history.  He was also a working man with a natural distrust for bosses and those who hold power over others.  We could use him today. A most fascinating guy.

***********************

Power corrupts the few, while weakness corrupts the many.  Hatred, malice, rudeness, intolerance and suspicion are the fruits of weakness.

–Eric Hoffer  ( The Ordeal of Courage  1963)

************

I read the above quote and was captivated by the idea behind it and tried to fit its content into what I observe.  There was a certain resonance and I wanted to know more about its writer, Eric Hoffer.  I am ashamed to say I knew nothing of his life or his work, this man who died in 1983 known as the Longshoreman Philosopher.  But thanks to the internet, there is a wide array of available resources including several sites who focus solely on the work of Hoffer.  Below is the short bio from the website of The Eric Hoffer Project:

Former migratory worker and longshoreman, Eric Hoffer burst on the scene in 1951 with his irreplaceable tome, The True Believer, and assured his place among the most important thinkers of the twentieth century. Nine books later, Hoffer remains a vital figure with his cogent insights to the nature of mass movements and the essence of humankind.

Of his early life, Hoffer has written: “I had no schooling. I was practically blind up to the age of fifteen. When my eyesight came back, I was seized with an enormous hunger for the printed word. I read indiscriminately everything within reach—English and German.

“When my father (a cabinetmaker) died, I realized that I would have to fend for myself. I knew several things: One, that I didn’t want to work in a factory; two, that I couldn’t stand being dependent on the good graces of a boss; three, that I was going to stay poor; four, that I had to get out of New York. Logic told me that California was the poor man’s country.”

Through ten years as a migratory worker and as a gold-miner around Nevada City, Hoffer labored hard but continued to read and write during the years of the Great Depression. The Okies and the Arkies were the “new pioneers,” and Hoffer was one of them. He had library cards in a dozen towns along the railroad, and when he could afford it, he took a room near a library for concentrated thinking and writing.

In 1943, Hoffer chose the longshoreman’s life and settled in California. Eventually, he worked three days each week and spent one day as “research professor” at the University of California in Berkeley. In 1964, he was the subject of twelve half-hour programs on national television. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1983.

“America meant freedom and what is freedom? To Hoffer it is the capacity to feel like oneself. He felt like Eric Hoffer; sometimes like Eric Hoffer, working man. It could be said, I believe, that he as the first important American writer, working class born, who remained working class-in his habits, associations, environment. I cannot think of another. Therefore, he was a national resource. The only one of its kind in the nation’s possession.” – Eric Sevareid, from his dedication speech to Eric Hoffer, San Francisco, CA, September 17, 1985

I think I have found some new reading material for the winter…

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Finding Yourself Anew

Posted in Biographical, Early Paintings, Influences, Painting, Quote, tagged , , on June 10, 2014| Leave a Comment »

GC Myers- Freedom DreamWhat are we when we are alone? Some, when  they are alone, cease to exist.

—Eric Hoffer

*************

I was contacted by another author for use of one of my images for inclusion in his upcoming book.  It was an old image, one that I still possessed and had used on the this blog, so I began to go through my files to find it.  Shuffling through the old work, many from before I began exhibiting publicly, brought a number of surprises.  There were pieces, like this one here on the right,  that had slipped my mind and seeing them rekindled instant recognition and memory, like stumbling upon an old acquaintance who you had not thought of in ages.  But there were others that had been lost in my memory and seeing them still only vaguely brought traces of their origin, as though you were again coming across someone who knew you but you couldn’t quite remember them even though there was something familiar in them, something you knew that you once knew.

Looking at these old pieces made me think of  all the time spent alone with these images.  The quote  above from Eric Hoffer came to mind.  What are we when we are alone?  Is that the real you? Or is the real you that person that interacts with all the outside world?  Looking at these pieces, I began to think that the person I was when I was alone had evolved slowly over the years, becoming closer to one entity.  What I mean is  that the person I was when I was alone, my inner voice,  did not always jibe with my outer voice and over time, especially as I have found a true voice in my work, has come closer and closer to becoming one and the same.

I don’t know if I can explain that with any clarity.  It’s a feel thing,  one that instantly comes from holding one of these paintings and still seeing the division that once was in them and in myself.  It is not anything to do with quality or subject or process.  It’s just a perceived feeling in the piece, an intangible that maybe only I can sense.  But it’s there and it makes me appreciate the journey and the work that brought these two voices closer together.

My alone time immersed in these pieces has seldom felt lonely and,  going back to Hoffer’s quote, never did I feel that I ceased to exist in my oneness.  I know people who are like that, that need constant interaction in order to feel alive and vital, but for me it has often felt almost the opposite.   That probably is a result of that division of my inner and outer voices that I have been trying to describe.  When I was alone I was always comfortable with my inner voice and the work that resulted from it served in the forms of companions.

I definitely exist  in my solitude and my work, my constant companion, is my proof.

I am going to stop now.  Enough confession for one morning.  I have new companions on the easel to which I must attend.

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The Longshoreman Philosopher

Posted in Neat Stuff, Quote, tagged on August 29, 2011| 2 Comments »

Power corrupts the few, while weakness corrupts the many.  Hatred, malice, rudeness, intolerance and suspicion are the fruits of weakness.

–Eric Hoffer  ( The Ordeal of Courage  1963)

************

Read the above quote and was captovated by the idea behind it and tried to fit its content into what I observe.  There was a certain resonation and I wanted to know more about its writer, Eric Hoffer.  I am ashamed to say I knew nothing of his life or his work, this man who died in 1983 known as the longshoreman philosopher.  But thanks to the internet, there is a wide array of available resources including several sites who focus solely on the work of Hoffer.  Below is the short bio from the website of The Eric Hoffer Project:

Former migratory worker and longshoreman, Eric Hoffer burst on the scene in 1951 with his irreplaceable tome, The True Believer, and assured his place among the most important thinkers of the twentieth century. Nine books later, Hoffer remains a vital figure with his cogent insights to the nature of mass movements and the essence of humankind.

Of his early life, Hoffer has written: “I had no schooling. I was practically blind up to the age of fifteen. When my eyesight came back, I was seized with an enormous hunger for the printed word. I read indiscriminately everything within reach—English and German.

“When my father (a cabinetmaker) died, I realized that I would have to fend for myself. I knew several things: One, that I didn’t want to work in a factory; two, that I couldn’t stand being dependent on the good graces of a boss; three, that I was going to stay poor; four, that I had to get out of New York. Logic told me that California was the poor man’s country.”

Through ten years as a migratory worker and as a gold-miner around Nevada City, Hoffer labored hard but continued to read and write during the years of the Great Depression. The Okies and the Arkies were the “new pioneers,” and Hoffer was one of them. He had library cards in a dozen towns along the railroad, and when he could afford it, he took a room near a library for concentrated thinking and writing.

In 1943, Hoffer chose the longshoreman’s life and settled in California. Eventually, he worked three days each week and spent one day as “research professor” at the University of California in Berkeley. In 1964, he was the subject of twelve half-hour programs on national television. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1983.

“America meant freedom and what is freedom? To Hoffer it is the capacity to feel like oneself. He felt like Eric Hoffer; sometimes like Eric Hoffer, working man. It could be said, I believe, that he as the first important American writer, working class born, who remained working class-in his habits, associations, environment. I cannot think of another. Therefore, he was a national resource. The only one of its kind in the nation’s possession.” – Eric Sevareid, from his dedication speech to Eric Hoffer, San Francisco, CA, September 17, 1985

I think I have found some new reading material for the winter…

Read Full Post »