Subj : World of Pogo
To   : RICHARD M. MEIC
From : LEE LOFASO
Date : Mon Jul 16 2001 09:19 am

Hello Richard,

>RMM>There is a lot of philosophy to be found in fiction literature.  I
>   >challenge everyone (you, John and the lurkers) to identify the
>   >originator of the following quote:
>   >
>RMM>"We are the universe attempting to discover itself."

>LL>Pogo: "We have met the enemy and he is us."
>  >[Source: Earth Day 1971 Pogo strip cartoon]

RMM>Not the quote I intended but I can play with this.  Now are you certain
RMM>that your quote originated in the Pogo strip and was not cannibolized from
RMM>something another had said?  I need to be sure of this.

Absolutely sure.  The exchange was between Porkypine and Pogo,
taking place in the middle of Ofekenofee Swamp, trash being
everywhere:

Porkypine: "Ah, Pogo, the beauty of the forest primeval gets
me in the heart."

Pogo: "It gets me in the feet, Porkypine."

Porkypine: "It is hard walkin' on this stuff."

Pogo: "Yep, son, we have met the enemy and he is us."

>RMM>Or words to that effect.  The meaning is what is important.

>LL>Walt Kelly had a very deep concern for the environment, as his Pogo
>  >strip showed throughout it's syndication.

RMM>Interesting that environmentalism has become such a fad, though that a
RMM>comic strip can hit it big right off.  You state that the Pogo strip had
RMM>shown its environmental leanings throughout syndication, I suspect that
RMM>the author used environmentalism to sell the Pogo strip.

Nah.  In an introduction to 'Pogo Papers', published by Simon &
Schuster in 1952-53, Kelly wrote:

"...There is no need to sally forth, for it remains true that those
things which make us human are, curiously enough, always close at hand.
Resolve, then, that on this very ground, with small flags waving and
tiny blasts of tiny trumpets, we shall meet the enemy, and not only may
he be ours, he may be us."

Naturally, Kelly's Pogo strip reflected this viewpoint.

>LL>But he did not create his
>  >Pogo character as being simply dedicated to one particular issue.
>  >That is why Pogo's "We have met the enemy and he is us" is so much
>  >more far-reaching.

RMM>But in the 70's environmentalism was a pretty darn good way of selling a
RMM>product.  Still is, actually... though people are just now becoming a
RMM>little more wary.

Pogo preceded 70's environmentalism.  :)

>LL>Example:
>  >
>LL>INDIVIDUAL: "We have met the enemy and he is us."

RMM>"I have met the enemy and he is me."

Incorrect.  We and us are plural, being that the comment was between
two individuals (Porkypine and Pogo).  Besides, no man is an island unto
himself, even if only a possum.

>LL>COLLECTIVE: Recognition that the enemy is indeed us, whom we have
>  >met so many times in so very many places.

RMM>"We have met the enemy and he is us."

Collective refers to a group as a whole, not individuals within a group.
Simply restating the individual does not make it collective.

>LL>DISCIPLINE: Recognition of the enemy as ourselves as the conceptual
>  >foundation for balanced and adequate progress towards creating a
>  >free, just and peaceful world.

RMM>"We have met the enemy and he is under control."

Not by a longshot.  Just because we have met the enemy and recognized
the enemy does not mean that we have the enemy under control.  It takes
more than mere recognition of a problem in order to implement solutions
for that problem.

>LL>ROLE: Recognition of the enemy as ourselves being the psychological
>  >foundation for balanced and adequate progress towards creating a
>  >free, peaceful and fulfilling personal life.

RMM>"We are the enemy."

And who is that enemy?  Two people in a world of six billion?  Or the
total population as a whole?  What is the psychological foundation?
Is it only a handful of people, or many?

>LL>One can extrapolate on those themes and develop a working philosophy
>  >based on the world of Pogo and his friends.

RMM>Let me know how far you get.  :o)

Being from the swamps of Louisiana, I have gotten very far indeed.
Not only do we have possum, alligators, and owls, but we also have
nutria and even a creature known locally as The Swamp Thing.  Pogo
would be impressed.  ;)

--Lee


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