For being a “comedy”, it doesn’t seem all that humorous. Teachers will tell you that it is a “comedy” in the sense that it has a happy ending in heaven. Some people may snicker at some of the punishments Dante envisions for some souls in v Hellbut others would consider it callous. Who would be so cruel as to laugh at the misfortune of others? It’s like that medieval. Even so, who knows if we know ourselves as well as we often think.
Let’s say you’re in Dante’s shoes and you’re walking through Hell with your guide. You come across a dark place lit only by a dim blue glow. As your eyes adjust to the dim light, you realize that the dim blue glow is coming from box-shaped computer monitors, each sitting atop what looks like a combination of a human body and an old telephone switchboard with cables leading in and out of various holes.
“Where are we?” you ask the ghost, your guide, who is Mike Judge, the writer and director of the film Office space (in Czech under the title Mr. Šikula’s paintings). “This is the dark valley where merciless and unrepentant tycoons and bureaucrats go, unrepentant of their crimes against humanity.” That’s when you hear voices telling every poor soul trying to plug the right cord into the right outlet to “plug in” their system: “Sorry, sir, but the system is currently unavailable.” Or: “We’re sorry, but you don’t have the correct software to connect to this port.” Now be honest. Tell me something inside you didn’t have to suppress a grin.
Let’s say you then go on and in the next valley, brightly illuminated by a brilliant light, you discover a white woman who looks like an intellectual, wearing glasses and a matching costume, sitting on a chair with the words “safe space” and demons poking at her from all sides. One says, “No those pronouns but these.”
The other yells, “Minorities are enslaved because of you. If you don’t say you’re sorry, you’re no better than a slave owner. And if you say you’re sorry, you’re worse.”
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A third jabs another sharp pin and says, “You’re a woman, so you’re a disadvantaged minority. But don’t say you’re a disadvantaged minority, because that would be insensitive to the real one disadvantaged minorities.”
The fourth also nudges her and says, “Children are disgusting. But aren’t you ashamed of not having children?” The woman in the chair seems determined to oblige any demon that pokes her, saying, “Yes, that’s true. No, definitely not.” Harpies fly over her head, pounce on her and scream around: “Racist, racist, racist!” She screams, “I don’t, that they!” However, the harpies ignore her.
When the spirit, your guide, turns to you as if to tell you something about this woman, you just shake your head and say, “No need. I know who she is.” Now, you might not laugh in this case, but wouldn’t you just say to yourself, “That’s unfortunate, but it kind of makes sense”? When you ask the guide, “Isn’t there anything to do here?”, he just looks away, stares into the distance, and says, “We have to move on.”
Even further down, you’ll find the CEO of a company that has fired thousands of your co-workers (they call it “downsizing”). Although he nearly bankrupted the company, he walked away with a $40 million golden parachute. He pushes an expensive BMW that has run out of gas up a steep hill with what looks like a gas pump on top. But when he gets on it, the car flips to the other side and he has to start all over again. Again, tell me you haven’t been overcome with mischief for a moment. “Oh, I’m sorry. Did I really laugh? That’s definitely not right.”
Then you end up on the mountain of purgatory where you see a lot of old friends. They were all basically super people, but each of them had one or more serious character flaws. A guy who was occasionally overcome with anger; a woman who was very nice and friendly, but like Ado Annie in the musical Oklahoma “she was a girl who couldn’t say no” to all the wrong guys; a nice manager who couldn’t muster up the courage to protest stupid measures or stand up to malicious employees.
Ordinary people. They are good, but each one needs a little bit somethingwhich would squeeze out of them the last bit of cancer that kills joy in them. And you say to yourself, “Yeah, in a way it seems right. I like these people, but they can’t keep ruining their lives like this.”
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And then, at the very top of the mountain of purgatory, you meet the wonderful elderly secretary Alice, who was always kind and benevolent, knew everything and could make things really move. With the same welcoming smile you remember, he sits behind his desk and says, “How was the tour?” You: “Thank you, dear. But I have a certain suspicion that you have something in common with her.” And she says, “Well, yes, but not really me. Actually, the Boss has everything under his thumb. But we talk regularly. As I often tell you, it’s excellent The boss.”
At that moment, you realize that after all this muck of office intrigue, she is here and others who are down no longer make life hell for themselves or others, it’s actually something like a happy ending. There was rarely an opportunity for a hearty laugh along the way, but it seems all is well after all.
At that moment, however, Alice turns to you and says, “Did you recognize yourself in any of the ones below?” And although she says it with her usual cheerful and encouraging look like a kind grandmother, it sends chills down your spine.
Z English original translated by Matúš Sitár.
Randall Smith is the holder of the sponsored J. Michael Miller Chair of Theology at the University of St. Tomas in Houston, Texas. His books include Bonaventure’s Journey of the Soul into God: Context and Commentary (Bonaventura’s Journey of the Soul to God. Context and commentary), From Here to Eternity: Reflections on Death, Immortality, and the Resurrection of the Body (From Here to Eternity. Reflections on Death, Immortality, and the Resurrection of the Body), Aquinas, Bonaventure, and the Scholastic Culture of Medieval Paris: Preaching, Prologues, and Biblical Commentary (Aquinas, Bonaventure, and Scholastic Culture in Medieval Paris: Sermons, Prefaces, and Biblical Commentaries) and Reading the Sermons of Thomas Aquinas: A Beginner’s Guide (Reading the Sermons of Thomas Aquinas: A Beginner’s Guide). His articles can be found at http://t4.stthom.edu/users/smith/portfolio/.
Rubric To the point it is made up of author’s articles of a prestigious American magazine The Catholic Thingcomes out with support Anton Neuwirth College. The article is not an expression of the opinion of the Anton Neuwirth College.
Source: Postoj
