I am a vastpairmuseumofworrythatswallowsanynearby, worryitconfinedsothat I couldbecomeaneverlargerparameciumofworry.
But I don't wanttotalkaboutthattoday.
I wanttotalkabout a reallygoodYouTubecomment.
Solastweekoverattheartassignment, SarahandComplexityproducerBrandonBrunguardmade a brilliantvideocalledTheCaseforVideoGames.
It's great.
Youshouldwatchit.
Andinresponse, a YouTubeusernamed 33 Ranjitwrotethisvideo.
Helpmeput a fingeronwhy I keepcomingbacktoartassignmentvideosandwhytheymovedmesomuch.
It's a wayoflookingattheworld, andespeciallyatwhathumansdoandexperiencethatdoesnotshirkfrommentioningproblemsandchallenges, butneverridiculesordegradesothers.
In a way, theartistSimonvideosairexercisesinconsciouslyexperiencinghumandignityandothersandourselves.
I onlyrealizethisinhavingitarticulatedformeby 33 RogetButtexercisesinconsciouslyexperiencinghumandignityarewhat I amlookingforinnovelsandpoetryandYouTubevideosandphilanthropyandvideogamesandmuchelse.
Now I'm notalwaysafterconsciouslyexperiencinghumandignity.
Likewhen I watchvideosofextremelyhighlevelTetrisplaying, forinstance, which I doliterallyeveryday.
I amseeking a strangemixofcalmandwonder, and I oftenlooktoartfordistractionbecausesometimes I needtobedistractedfromtheworldanditsworriesfromnavigatingthecomplexitiesandvulnerabilitiesanduncertaintiesofbeing a person.
Butwhen I amreadytolookattheworldandthepeople I shareitwith, I wantexercisesinconsciouslyexperiencinghumandignity.
I meandignityinthesenseofbeingworthyofrespectandhonor.
I reallybelieveinacknowledgingone's ownhumandignityandalsoinrecognizingitinotherpeople, especiallypeoplewhohavebeentoldbythesocialorderorbystructuresofpowerthattheirlivesarelessvaluableorlesscentraltothehumanexperience.
And I loveartassignmentvideosbecausetheyfindsomanywaysofdoingthatfromfocusingonartistswhodon't generallygetthemostcriticalattentiontofocusingonkindsofartlike, say, videogamesthatareoftentreatedasiftheyaren't properart.
Andindoingso, shereallyhascreatedexercisesinconsciouslyexperiencinghumandignity, whichis a phrase I keeprepeatingbecauseit's justthatgoodlook, I don't laborunderthedelusionthatourspeciesisgreatoranything.
We'vecertainlydone a lotofharm.
I mean, despitebeing a speciesobsessedwiththeapocalypse, weseemblissfullyIan, botheredbythefactthattoomanythousandsofEarth's specieswearetheapocalypse.
But I alsothinkthathumansareoverwhelminglythemostinterestingthingthateverhappenedonEarth.
It's easytoforgethowwondrousyouare, howstrangeandlovely, I mean, throughphotographyandart, you'veseenthingsyou'llneverseethesurfaceofMars, thebioluminescentfishofthedeepocean, 1/17 centurygirlwith a pearlearring, andthroughempathy, you'vefeltthingsyou'llneverfeel.
Also, you'retheonlypartoftheknownuniversethatknowsit's in a universe.
But I thinkwebecomebetterbyconsciouslyexperiencinghumandignityinourselvesandothersthroughunderstandingtheincalculablevalueofeveryhumanlife, includingyours.