Let me start by saying that I am totally rocking out to Pinkie's new song "Smile, Smile, Smile." I'm a but upset that I didn't hear about it earlier given that it was leaked in November. Oh well... I can't wait until Sim Gretina remixes this:
Spoilers Below
In this weeks episode, Pinkie Pie starts off on a roll making residents of Ponyville smile with her upbeat, cheery demeanour... so much so that she breaks into her awesome Smile, Smile, Smile song. At the conclusion of her song, Pinkie runs into a toupee wearing donkey named Cranky Doodle Donkey.
Despite Pinkie's best efforts, Cranky repeatedly refuses to accept her offer of friendship. After piecing together some clues she discovers about Cranky in the process, she brings Ms. Matilda, a donkey who also resides in Ponyville, who Cranky had spent most of his adult life looking for. After it is revealed that Cranky met Matilda as a young ass (he he) at the Grand Galloping Gala years before but was unable to find her.
After years of searching, Pinkie Pie was able to reunite the two donkeys who fall in love and, it is implied live happily ever after.
The friendship report that Pinkie submits to the Princess is one indicating that there are many different kinds of friends and many different ways to express friendship, that some friends like over the top super hyper antics, and others prefer to just be left alone. What can be inferred from this episode is that friendship does not need to involve constant contact, but is best demonstrated in simply trying to make the other friend happy (or smile).
End Spoilers
Many of the comments I read about this episode were critical of the fact that Pinkie was basically stalking Cranky and that if you stalk someone long enough, eventually they will accept you.
This is not the case and in fact, this teaches one of the most important lessons about capitalism. Privacy. In this era of Facebook, Twitter (and Blogging), privacy is almost considered quaint and unnecessary. Neo-cons use the idiotic excuse that "I have nothing to hide," and so they have no reservation about forfeiting their privacy, while most progressives just don't care. Either way, privacy in my opinion has to be one of the most important element of capitalism, because without privacy, there is no property.
Private property is just that - property that is set apart from the common or public property that is for the exclusive enjoyment of the private owner. Deprivation of privacy is, in effect, theft of the right of ownership an individual should be entitled to as a legitimate owner of whatever in question is private.
Cranky's response in this episode highlights it well that if one wants to anger or offend somepony, one only needs to do what Pinkie demonstrated in this episode and intrude upon their privacy. That the producers of the show would show the negative repercussions of such intrusion is an awesome lesson for us capitalists. There is nothing more infuriating than having your privacy violated, no matter how well intended the intrusion.
While this has applications for interpersonal interactions, it also has broader reaching ones that are well worth pointing out. Neo-cons might think it's an act of friendship to send armed troops into a foreign country to over throw a dictatorial regime. Progressives might think it's an act of friendship to give foreign aide to underdeveloped countries, causing them to perpetually be in debt. Unfortunately, as well intended these intrusive gestures of friendship may bethey are violating the national privacy (aka - sovereignty) of a foreign nation and are no different than a hyper active pony, intruding into a donkey's private, personal space.
The consequences of these well meaning acts of friendship not only have the effect of generating hostility and resentment from the recipients of them, worse, they ward off the magic of capitalism that always spawns greater prosperity, wealth, and friendship for everyone.
Respecting privacy at an individual, communal, and national level is to respect everpony's right to privately enjoy their own property. It is in the free and voluntary exchange of privately owned property that the most prosperity is generated for the most people. If this principle was recognized at all levels of society (but especially in the government level) there would be a lot more reason to smile in this world.
Thankfully, Pinkie Pie recognized this importance just how important this is.
No comments:
Post a Comment