Ask A Genius 966: Louis CK and Shrinking Social Concern
Author(s): Rick Rosner and Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Ask A Genius
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/06/23
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: I was recalling something from a Louis C.K. special. He is not in vogue right now because of his controversies. Louis C.K. was a prominent comedian. He remains relatively prominent and has regained some of his prominence. He was known for his honest yet gritty comedy. He often dealt with life in a very raw manner. One of his commentaries was about getting older and how, as you age, your social circle or your circle of social concern changes. That has been relatively true for me in specific ways. Has it been true for you? The circle, like the things that you care about in the world, the circle of the people whom you care about. For me, for instance, I care about various human rights projects that involve thousands of people. But in terms of personal care and deep concern where I can actually make an impact, it is specific people.
Rick Rosner: OK, so not exactly the same for me. No, I had a social circle. It revolved around work until I got fired. I had my work friends, but I do not have that many friends now. Lance and JD and you, and Kevin when he is around, are my friends. And Carole, of course, and my child. But beyond that, there are not many. It might be due to me being on the spectrum, or I am not sure. But no, my social circle shrank when Kimmel let me go. Now, the circle of things that I am concerned about has probably, or at least my concern, has grown since 2016; US politics have been miserable and disastrous. The Republicans have been increasingly problematic since Reagan, but the overt corruption, lies, and willingness to take everything down as long as they win is like nothing I or any other American has seen from a major political party in our lifetimes. I think you have to go back to pre-Civil War to see anything like this. The southern states were willing to secede and go to war, which, along with the North, killed three-quarters of a million Americans. The deadliest war in absolute numbers and very much in terms of percentages. In any war in US history. At the time, the US had 30 million people and we lost 750,000. That is two and a half percent. That is significant. And you get that sense of stopping at nothing from…
Jacobsen: I am more specifically aimed at interpersonal concern.
Rosner: I have a tight circle. I do not extend myself to expand my circle. I am OK just on my own without having a large circle of friends. No, so it has not expanded; it has shrunk.
Jacobsen: So would you say the original point is more or less correct that with age, social circles shrink? Or the interpersonal circles of concern shrink. Is that more or less true?
Rosner: I do not know. I mean, is that what Louis C.K. said? That they shrink?
Jacobsen: That was more or less the argument, yes.
Rosner: I mean, for me, yes. Like people who were my friends decades ago, when I reconnect with them, they may have drifted into… we do not have many recent shared experiences. And maybe my friends have drifted into ways of being or belief systems that are uncomfortable for me, like being Trump supporters.
Jacobsen: That is all I wanted to know.
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