‘Jimmy Dunne Says’

‘The Lost Art of Balance’

The Palisadian-Post presents an homage to Will Rogers’ column, “Will Rogers Says,” with a column by Palisadian Jimmy Dunne—on life in the “greatest town in America.”

I was watching a fabulous documentary on a high-wire artist, Philippe Petit.

About his love of finding balance in the oddest of places.

Over cities. Across cathedrals. Over mountains and valleys. In his own backyard.

It’s a lost art. Generations before us all had tightrope artists. They didn’t exactly give LeBron James a run for his money, but they definitely were show stoppers.

Balance isn’t selling these days.

What’s selling is the extremes.

How come?

I suppose, stirring the pot more than anything else are advertisers. Can’t blame them; it’s their job.

It’s kind of like fishing. If you want to catch a certain kind of fish, hook ’em with what you know they’ll bite at.

The more TVs, computers and phones know what folks are looking at, the more they’re being fed the same familiar bait.

As French physiologist Claude Bernard said, “You are what you eat.”

Politicians and pundits beating both ends of the political dial are betting that emotions and feelings win the day over sound thinking, stability and equilibrium.

Balance. It’s become a passive word.

Yet Philippe was anything but passive.

He said, “Refuse to tape yourself to rules, refuse your own success, refuse to repeat yourself. See every day, every year, every idea as a true challenge—and then you’ll live life on a tightrope.”

So what do we do about it? One thing we can do is vote.

We can use our voice with our privilege of voting. We can stand up for leaders that have a reverence and compass for common sense.

Balance used to be a powerful word. A word of strength. Of dignity. Of passion. Of intelligence. Of commitment.

Today …

Balance is a bland, over-priced candy bar.

Jimmy Dunne is a modern-day Renaissance Man; a hit songwriter (28 million hit records), screenwriter/producer of hit television series, award-winning author, an entrepreneur—and a Palisadian “Citizen of the Year.” You can reach him at j@jimmydunne.com or jimmydunne.substack.com.