“Did you know that song is a remake? It’s not as good as the original.”
“The best pizza in the world is from Naples, not Phoenix.”
“That’s not real.”
“That’s not authentic.”
“That is not the best.”
Why do we associate “the best” with the moment of creation or the place of origin? Why is something good only when it is done first, or only when it comes from a particular place? There are many instances we come to, when moving around in this world of ours, where people associate “the best” with origin and time. I see this particular way of thought not just in our culture. It seems innate in the human species.
I don’t believe in the view of “first is best” or “original is better”. While there are some instances where the first is the best, there are other instances where the second, third, even twelfth is best. But sometimes I find myself caged in this simplistic viewpoint. Sometimes, I’ve heard myself say those sentences. I have even caught myself arguing—with myself—over one song being better than another simply because it was the original, even when I feel that the remake is a hundred-fold better.
Now, there are schools of thought leading us in either direction. Formalism says one thing. Contextualism says another. It’s all a great debate like most ways of thinking. And I suppose the argument between these two viewpoints will never end.
But all of us are human. We are all fallible creatures, and I believe that one of our biggest errors is to assume that something is best when it is either the first or from one particular culture, region, or country. When we do this we arrogantly suggest that there is nothing else better; that nothing else compares and therefore is not worth comparison. This is a form of high-minded idealism in a way. It is no different from saying, “This is the best and there is nothing more to say.”
I drone. I know. Most care little about this issue. But ask yourself if you’ve ever heard words like those above. Ask yourself if you’ve ever claimed something “the best” because it was “the first” or “the original” or from a particular place. Chances are that you have, but you wouldn’t be the last, or the first, to make the best claim.
Copyright © Tyler Gant 2009
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