Today at work, I had a conversation about the difference between my children and myself when it comes to ceremony. The moment I find myself at any official event, I switch — instantly, automatically, and irreversibly — into a more sarcastic mode. I start looking for anything false, unnatural, emotionally overblown, or simply dishonest. And I reliably find plenty.
My children, on the other hand, don’t quite understand their father’s sardonic manner. Worse, it often annoys them.
My own case seems clear enough: it’s inherited from Soviet realities, where there were too many ceremonies, too much manufactured pathos, and too many lies. But Israel is hardly short on ceremony either — or on fake pathos, for that matter. So what explains the difference between my kids and me?
A colleague offered an explanation. In the Soviet Union, participation was not optional. Absence could be dangerous. In Israel, you can take part or simply not show up — no one is keeping score.
It’s a logical explanation, at least as a first approximation. I’ll go with it for now and remain open to better answers.
notes
Onginnyng
This will do for a beginning.