I Know True Friendship Is Priceless
This heading in a way reflects my thinking (or is it confusion) about modern ‘friendshps’ and what they could possibly stand for. Where do they start and, more important, where will it end?
We often hear people say :”that’s what friends are for . .”. and it is obvious that that “that” must include quite a wide spectrum of
things that are not always so well defined. Today in the present era of FB/EP and other social networks the term friend/friendship”
(although only virtual) has become slightly meaningless by its overuse. Even if we all understand that it is NOT, or cannot be, friendship in the truest sense of the word, our acceptance that It has (any) meaning to suddenly have 300 friends , tells me that there must be something wrong with the way WE perceive what the term friendship means and ,a lot worse ,what OUR CHILDREN may one day accept as an acceptable definition for a sound relationship between one person and another.
So perhaps we should ask :what are virtual friends for? And do we really need so many? Is it an ego thing? Surely no one is naïve enough to believe that it CAN mean anything else than just being another stepping stone . .to make (even) more friends. .to feel more comfortable in this wilderness of . having many strangers as your best or only friends.
Yes, best friends are often forsaken for the new friendships being made on the internet .If you are not linked to the internet, you may soon pale in the eyes of your old best buddies . .and become uninteresting to them .Your son or your daughter with their 300 or 3000 friends may find very little time to drop you a line or two in their busy lives . .leave alone coming round for a cup of tea and a chat, like they used to.
But my concern is more for the future ,for our children and their children .Will the term friendship undergo a qualitative change?
According to the Jim Reeves song of the 60’s: “ . .a stranger is just a friend you do not know.” But is that really possible? Can it be, or are we just caught up in a wave of over positiveness and trusting? If everyone can potentially become your friend,
then we must have lost some part of our individuality – or we don’t really care much for what we call friendship anymore.
I don’t want to labor the point anymore because I am sure JR only meant to say that its possible to know and love people if we
let go of our prejudices and stereotypical thinking .But the question is : have we become so post modern in our thinking that we accept that all meaning can or must also include that which is less meaningful? And is that because we have become too focused on ourselves? ( = Friends ,no longer matter what and who they are ,as long as they are mine. . . .(?)
What makes me suspicious about the whole thing is that so few people seem to query it ,or any part of it. Aren’t we being sucked in by something huge on which we do not have a proper perspective. If we accept such superficial friendship (as having any meaning) then aren’t we sacrificing the deeper qualities (or potentialities) of TRUE friendship, much as when we started confusing having sex with (what we call) “making love”?
The lack of suspicion against this phenomenon (as reflected in the lack of opinions being expressed about it) makes me wonder if modern man isn’t in fact quite different to the people of yesteryear, and in my age group. But then again, there are young people who still think exactly like I do. But that sort of theory perhaps hold more water if you measure yourself against ‘mainstream thinking” of young people today. At any rate, I don’t believe for one moment we can have both worlds Something has been sacrificed .The only question is: how reversible is that change ?
Nevertheless ,I am very thankful for all the friends I have made on EP and it is because I see the value of sharing life experiences as a possible basis for future friendship, that I care for the meaning of term (true) FRIENDSHIP.
God Bless
We often hear people say :”that’s what friends are for . .”. and it is obvious that that “that” must include quite a wide spectrum of
things that are not always so well defined. Today in the present era of FB/EP and other social networks the term friend/friendship”
(although only virtual) has become slightly meaningless by its overuse. Even if we all understand that it is NOT, or cannot be, friendship in the truest sense of the word, our acceptance that It has (any) meaning to suddenly have 300 friends , tells me that there must be something wrong with the way WE perceive what the term friendship means and ,a lot worse ,what OUR CHILDREN may one day accept as an acceptable definition for a sound relationship between one person and another.
So perhaps we should ask :what are virtual friends for? And do we really need so many? Is it an ego thing? Surely no one is naïve enough to believe that it CAN mean anything else than just being another stepping stone . .to make (even) more friends. .to feel more comfortable in this wilderness of . having many strangers as your best or only friends.
Yes, best friends are often forsaken for the new friendships being made on the internet .If you are not linked to the internet, you may soon pale in the eyes of your old best buddies . .and become uninteresting to them .Your son or your daughter with their 300 or 3000 friends may find very little time to drop you a line or two in their busy lives . .leave alone coming round for a cup of tea and a chat, like they used to.
But my concern is more for the future ,for our children and their children .Will the term friendship undergo a qualitative change?
According to the Jim Reeves song of the 60’s: “ . .a stranger is just a friend you do not know.” But is that really possible? Can it be, or are we just caught up in a wave of over positiveness and trusting? If everyone can potentially become your friend,
then we must have lost some part of our individuality – or we don’t really care much for what we call friendship anymore.
I don’t want to labor the point anymore because I am sure JR only meant to say that its possible to know and love people if we
let go of our prejudices and stereotypical thinking .But the question is : have we become so post modern in our thinking that we accept that all meaning can or must also include that which is less meaningful? And is that because we have become too focused on ourselves? ( = Friends ,no longer matter what and who they are ,as long as they are mine. . . .(?)
What makes me suspicious about the whole thing is that so few people seem to query it ,or any part of it. Aren’t we being sucked in by something huge on which we do not have a proper perspective. If we accept such superficial friendship (as having any meaning) then aren’t we sacrificing the deeper qualities (or potentialities) of TRUE friendship, much as when we started confusing having sex with (what we call) “making love”?
The lack of suspicion against this phenomenon (as reflected in the lack of opinions being expressed about it) makes me wonder if modern man isn’t in fact quite different to the people of yesteryear, and in my age group. But then again, there are young people who still think exactly like I do. But that sort of theory perhaps hold more water if you measure yourself against ‘mainstream thinking” of young people today. At any rate, I don’t believe for one moment we can have both worlds Something has been sacrificed .The only question is: how reversible is that change ?
Nevertheless ,I am very thankful for all the friends I have made on EP and it is because I see the value of sharing life experiences as a possible basis for future friendship, that I care for the meaning of term (true) FRIENDSHIP.
God Bless
By:
kitsgamesandads
Age:
61-65
,
Male
