A Memoir on Emotion
A Memoir on Emotion

Summary/Abstract: I was born into emotion. By this I mean that by dint of my culture, geography, and religion I found myself in a milieu which was invariably charged with emotions and emotional expression. I was born a very long time ago in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York. The population was largely Jewish, a very emotional culture, and those who weren’t were mostly Italian or Irish, also cultures where emotional expression was natural and pervasive. If you have ever seen a Woody Allen film, especially Annie Hall where there are cutaways between mid-western Thanksgiving dinner and Jewish one, you’ll have an idea of what I am referring to. Allowing for a good deal of comedic exaggeration, nay, hyperbole, the difference is based on reality. Arguing, in the Jewish tradition went without saying. Theses, beliefs and credences were held seriously. To not question someone’s statements was rude – a sign of disrespect, an indication that you did not take the other person seriously, did not think they were worth arguing with. The beliefs one put forward were not mere empty statements, they were parts of one’s self, and as such could not be let go easily. As a result, all attacks or criticisms addressed to one’s partner are in reality attacks on that person. No wonder emotion was so prevalent.

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