TULIPOMANIA AND HOOPLA

From My Perspective - - -

TULIPOMANIA = “A violent passion for the acquisition or cultivation of tulips” -- In Holland, in the first half of the 17th century, the cultivation of tulips became a mania. It began about the year 1634, and, like a violent epidemic, seized upon all classes of the community, leading to disasters and misery such as the records of commerce or of bankruptcies can scarcely parallel. In 1636, tulip marts had been established in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Haarlem, Leyden, and various other towns, where tulip bulbs were sold and resold in the same manner as stocks are on the Stock Exchange of London.

HOOPLA = “Boisterous, jovial commotion or excitement; Extravagant publicity; Talk intended to mislead or confuse…” A play by Shakespeare entitled: “MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING” - The main plot in Much Ado About Nothing is the same as the story of Ariodante and Ginevra in Ariosto; but the secondary circumstances and development are very different. The mode in which the innocent Hero before the altar at the moment of the wedding, and in the presence of her family and many witnesses, is put to shame by the most degrading charge, false indeed, yet clothed with every appearance of truth, is a grand piece of theatrical effect in the true and justifiable sense…” This Title – Much Ado About Nothing - has been varied along the way until it recently was used in reference to the final episode of The Jerry Seinfeld Show when it became MUCH ADIEU ABOUT NOTHING. Observers noted: “How important is the last episode to American tele-viewers? A 30-second commercial spot costs $1,500,000. A 35-foot-high screen was erected in Times-Square to carry the event, while negotiations were taking place to televise the show on a giant screen to 500,000 viewers in Central Park. The Smithsonian Institute in Washington made inquiries about obtaining the entire set of Seinfeld. It was the climax of a show which people said defines our generation, and is the quintessential identification of the '90s. It was a final judgment built on nine years of hype (hope's replacement in a world of synthetic images). It was, as some said, a national holiday."

Misplaced Values and Cultural Saturation with Minutia bring one to the threshold of “hype” versus bonafide “hope”! In other words, we have delved into Fiction and Fantasy to such a degree that we are unable to find authenticity. It brings nations to a place where it allows lofty rhetoric to super-impose itself where bottom-line factualness has become a void. This occurs across all strata of culture and life until we reach the point of “hype” replacing (or becoming) “hope” – and – authenticity is deliberately blurred to smooth the way for adoption of a new agenda. As a result “right to an abortion” becomes “pro-Choice”; “redistribution of wealth” (welfare) becomes “reinvestment”; etc.

Consider these things with me - - - During the earth-ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, many times he would employ a word or phrase – “Verily, Verily, I say unto you…” VERILY means: In truth; in fact; With confidence; assuredly…” Some examples are: John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that hears my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Matthew 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Matthew 18:3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. John 6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. Matthew 26:21 And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. Attention and commitment should be placed in what is factual – the Verily – words of The One Who stated: “I am the way; the truth; and the life! No one comes to the Father except by Me!” Tulipomania can bring about a “herd instinct” where people will be caught up by the rhetoric and miss the authentic. Hoopla is what it suggests – much activity and lofty platitudes – but – very little result and great disappointment regarding what one “hoped” would be when the “hype” was innocently embraced.