A couple of weeks ago, Gareth of Fighting Mediocrity tweeted that he’d had an idea for a post along the lines of “The Pinky and The Brain Guide to World Domination.” I suggested that if he didn’t write that post, I would do it. Several DMs later, The Cartoonival of Wisdom was born. We’re posting the Cartoonival today as an homage to Johnny B. Truant’s ever-so-amusing suggestion that we should celebrate the seventeenth of August. Because smart people know to suck up to Johnny. I see possibilities for an annual celebration; don’t you?
I watched Bugs Bunny every Saturday morning when I was a kid. Bugs Bunny introduced me to some wonderful music (everything from opera to Mel Torme). He gave me a fine appreciation for drag queens that remains to this day. And he taught me how to deal with life’s little setbacks with aplomb. For a wiseass rabbit from Hoboken, Bugs Bunny was pretty damn smart. Today, I brought a little bunny rabbit wisdom for you. Ta HAVE, see?
Reading really is fundamental
Books are among the greatest tools on earth. They’re handy for crushing 8-legged invaders, sure, but they’re best at giving us new ideas to think about and new skills to master. When chased by an angry dog mob, Bugs used a copy of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn to throw the dogs off his trail. Lucky for Bugs, they were literate dogs.
And a handy copy of Magic Words and Phrases saved Bugs’s bacon when a vampire wanted to have Bugs for dinner. Hocus-cadabra, indeed.
Bugs Bunny – Transylvania 6-5000
Anthony | MySpace Video
The moral of the story: Read as much as you can get your hands on. In fact, read contradictory viewpoints on the subjects that interest you (you’ll be better prepared to develop your own opinions if you learn from a variety of perspectives). Just read. After all, it might save you from a vampire some day.
Be generous with compliments
Bugs usually started handing out the compliments when his life was in danger, and it usually worked. Note the dreamy expression on Mama Bear after Bugs tells her that her eyes are like limpid pools. To this day, “Tell me more about my eyes!” is code in my family for “Quick! Say something nice!”
The moral of the story: I’m not suggesting that you should issue fake, saccharine compliments to all and sundry just because you think it’ll make them love you. The point is that people respond well to compliments, and so it behooves you to be generous (and sincere!). Be willing to tell people what you admire about them. It makes them feel good, which in turn will make you feel good. And when you feel good, you’ll make better decisions than you will when you’re in the dumps.
Be helpful, even when it might cause you trouble
Witch Hazel was about to cook Hansel and Gretel (Hansel?… Hansel?… Hansel??) for her supper. Bugs could have stayed out of it, thereby saving himself from a forced hookup with a woman whose laugh makes Fran Drescher’s sound positively musical. But Bugs knew that saving the children was the right thing to do, and so he did it.
The moral of the story: You’ll probably never have to choose whether or not to save two little German children from a hungry witch (although one never knows), but we’re all faced with the choice to do the right thing or not, nearly every day. Choose to do the right thing. Not because it’s good karma. Not because you think you’ll get something for it. Just do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do.
Know when it’s time to cut your losses
There are going to be people you’ll want to help. Some of these people will happily and gratefully accept your help. Others will fight you tooth and nail. At some point, trying to help that second group becomes an exercise in diminishing returns. And when that happens, you have to be willing to step out of it, save yourself, and leave those folks to whatever comes next. Attend: in Ali Baba Bunny, Bugs saves Daffy from Hassan: not once, but twice. But when Daffy decides to get medieval on a real genie, Bugs is smart enough to get outta Dodge.
The moral of the story: You can’t save everyone, no matter how hard you try. And sometimes, it’s better to save yourself so that you’re around to help on another day than it is to sacrifice yourself for someone who doesn’t want your help, refuses your help, and flat-out fights your help.
You won’t always get a happy ending
Sometimes, things don’t work out the way you hope they will or expect they will.
The moral of the story: Expect problems. Expect failures. And prepare ahead of time for what you’ll do when they happen.
Comments, please
I hope you’ve enjoyed this little trip down memory lane. And now I want to hear from you: what have you learned from your favorite cartoons?
One more thing, Doc
Go read the genius posts by the other folks who participated in our cartoonery:
Amy Hoy with some thoughts on business from The Far Side
Kelly Kingman with the Trickster Wisdom of Bloo
Pace Smith with the smarts of Bob The Angry Flower
Kelly Parkinson with Synergy’s Resignation Letter
Our host, Gareth Hobbs, with a post that’s close to my heart: The Pinky and The Brain Guide to World Domination
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I suppose after getting “before each night is done, their plan will be unfurled” stuck in your head, you had to return the favour with “Kill the Wabbit” (although I do wonder where the helicopters fit in)
Love the bit on reading. I’ve been buying general design magazines recently. I find them fascinating, which is something I never thought I’d say.
And this “Just do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do.” pretty much sums up the code of the Dragon Slayer (so I’m stealing it)
Now where can i find kill the wabbit for my ringtone.
Gareth´s last blog ..The Pinky and the Brain guide to World Domination