Renaissance Man

These days, it's gotten harder
to identify what exactly
a Renaissance Man is, because
we've gotten it competing with
the less respectable
Jack of All Trades, who is,
of course, master of none.

So just what is a Renaissance Man?

Do you consider such a person
someone who is simply really
good at a number of different
things, or is it more complicated
than that? After all, any
number of entertainers famously
float between disciplines these
days, whether acting, directing,
recording music, writing things,
but do all those things merely
fall under the category of
"creativity"? If so, might
it then be argued that all
the original Renaissance Man,
da Vinci did, was exactly that,
even considering his scientific
pursuits? After all, how many
practical notions can you
think of, without their
images, that he bequeathed
to future generations?

Is a Renaissance Man merely
someone who "thinks outside
the box," who is able to
lead a room simply by being
there? Is that person
to be thought of as the most
respected individual around,
who generally avoids
restrictions that get in
the way of others?

I think a lot of society
wonders about this, fears
that a Renaissance Man
is somehow necessary,
and we spend our time
looking for them, honoring
them when we find them,
or completely overlooking
them, because a Renaissance Man
has too much on their plate
to seek the same spotlight
many others assume for
flashier but less compelling
achievements. But,

we also fear them. We fear
the Renaissance Man because
he represents a basic failure
in our own lives either
to have the opportunity
or ability to master so
many complex thoughts (because,
whether conscious or unconscious,
any skill is the product of
complex thought).

The Renaissance Man negates
the ordinary man, because
the Renaissance Man makes
the ordinary man unnecessary.

The Renaissance Man also
threatens the ordinary man
into complacency the ordinary man
can't shake if the Renaissance Man
is lost (what does the void
left by Batman mean about
those and the situation
he leaves behind? that's
a current comic book query,
anyway). We hate and fear
those we cannot replace,
hate them because we
are not them, and fear
them because we do not
believe we are capable
of taking their place.

The Renaissance Man is
a form of societal paralysis,
a symbol of what we know
about our past and what
we don't know but can speculate
about our future, and that's
as much why we maintain history
as anything else, our chance
to negate at least part
of the Renaissance Man,
and fear when history is lost,
why we horde treasures
and place value in them,
because they help remind us
of those that created them,
what they represented.

The Renaissance Man is a totem,
a god, the prototypical god,
and the more we learn how
to advance our technologies,
our cultures and understanding,
we fear that we will lose
the Renaissance Man, negate him.

We have a concept of good and evil
because it is the quintessential
battle within ourselves,
of hope and fear, over
the Renaissance Man, the Other
that is always among us,
but whom we set apart.

We do not understand
the Renaissance Man,
we know him, we know
them, but tell
ourselves that we don't,
because it relieves
the pressure that,
in the quiet moments,
tells each of us that
we are that Renaissance Man,
we have that potential
if only we'd listen.

But it is a frightening thing,
so we prefer distractions
that tell us anything but. Anyone
can try anything and fail at it,
if that's what they truly want.

The Renaissance Man can fly.