The Art of the Personal Essay

                I think the thing that most struck me with Mr. Lopate’s “The Art of the Personal Essay” was how he mentioned that the personal essayist is creating a persona; he mentioned the concept of the “idler” or “loafer.” He described how these authors sort of paint themselves on the outskirts of the mainstream marketplace and are in a way curmudgeonly. It very much made me think about, for those old enough to remember, the Andy Rooney segment at the end of 60 Minutes. He, much like Mr. Lopate suggests, was often reflecting on a time when things were simpler or different than today; almost like someone trapped in long-ago time unable to process what is happening in the world around them today.

                I also found the comment about the personal essayist exploring a subject or theme, raising a valid counter-point, and weaving the two together in an effective and compelling manner. One of the strengths in writing effective personal essays is the ability to have a point of view, have a sense of authority on the subject, understand the opposing point(s)-of-view, but being able to compel and bring the audience to that understanding of a universality that readers can agree with. To me this approach seems to take a sort of “every man” view or a sort of street-corner philosopher who has knowledge, but doesn’t necessarily come across as a preachy, know-it-all, but rather a wisdom that comes from experience.

                Today social media has become the place where our street-corner philosophers reside. I believe that social media is an important, albeit sometimes dangerous, part of influencing people’s behavior. As an example, the fact that news and information can pass from Facebook’s 2+ billion users quickly around the globe is both a blessing and a curse. Given that there is no “vetting” of information being posted (and the fact that fake accounts or news stories can easily be created) can lead to mis-information being spread as well. If we look at the events of the recent Coronavirus outbreak in the United States there was a lot of unnecessary panic being created causing grocery store shelves to be wiped clean in certain areas of the country. But there are also times when social media can be used to spread good and useful information (the “ice bucket” challenge comes to mind as positive influence incident.)

                An example that I can think of where a company unintentionally influenced people came when Chic-Fil-A’s CEO made comments about same-sex marriages. While these comments had less of an impact on the core customers of the company, many socially conscious individuals who support the cause of the LGBTQ+ community refused to support a business with such biased views against a segment of our population. While business may not have been impacted substantially, it has created an image, for me, what Chic-Fil-A stands for and I have decided that it is not a company that I would choose to support with my business. This is an example of negative influence, so I am certain that the opposite has happened where unintentional positive support has happened. In fact, just thinking about the Coronavirus yet again (since it dominates much of the news right now, and rightfully so) several professional athletes have pledged to donate toward the employees of the arenas/stadiums where they play to help them while the sports world is on hiatus. I’ve also seen other businesses opting not to charge rent to their small business tenants in an effort to keep them viable while the country works through this unprecedented time in our history. I think these sorts of stories have influenced people to help when and where they can the people who have been severely impacted by the economic strain we’re going through.

                I would say that, I don’t believe that I have enough friends or followers to be considered an influencer… if anything I would fall into that unintentional category. But, I’m sure to some small extent we are all influencers. It may not be broad or vast influence like Kim Kardashian or even our current President, but among our small social groups, friends and family we all probably influence to some extent. And sometimes we influence people not to do certain things based on our behavior or experiences as a sort of “cautionary tale” to those paying close attention.