What Does Brad Know?

I've written this from a prompt I received in a daily email from @shadowspub. The prompt is a quote from Brad Pitt, which is revealed in the story. Thanks for reading!

What Does Brad Know?

The quotes of Hollywood actors, respected by far too many people in my opinion, are a peculiarity. There are some cases where actors were involved in living a normal life for a fair amount of their life before landing an acting gig. A lot of actors however, maybe most of the A-listers, have studied acting as their desired profession; some from a very young age.

I remember seeing a movie that featured Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio when both of them were kids; DiCaprio was a little kid, so from that movie, I know both of these guys have been into acting the majority of their lives.

They live in a fantasy world, devoid of the reality common people deal with, and have most of their lives.

To say that Hollywood actors are out of touch with the masses on practically any public issue then, is pretty sound logic, knowing what we know about them.

Brad Pitt has a quote and someone has gone to the trouble of singling it out for the masses to consume; likely with the projected assumption this great, well-informed genius mind has dispensed wisdom that simply cannot be ignored.

The quote, “I think happiness is overrated. Satisfied, at peace – those would be more realistic goals,” by Brad Pitt, lifelong Hollywood actor, is that one quote that someone, upon reading it, felt that Brad’s utterance was pure, inspirational gold.

Now, it’s a given that Brad’s public-relations team is surely made up of the cream of the crop of Hollywood actor public-relations experts. These guys have most of America thinking that Brad’s a regular guy. That’s the persona they’ve convinced Brad is the perfect one for him. So, when a Brad Pitt quote is called out by the media for public consumption, there’s reasoning behind it.

The really excitable Brad fans will gobble-up anything Brad “says” and is quoted as “saying,” as though it has come down from the heavens. It doesn’t matter that Brad doesn’t know what being an adult in the real-life world is like. This type of Brad fan would believe Brad on any subject, even over dissenting experts’ findings.

Some of the “quotes” are likely fabricated by someone hired to either make-up or round-out the celebrity’s meaningful (ahem) thought. Remember; quotes are dispensed to affect public relations.

But this particular quote about happiness being overrated… it just makes me feel like I’m reading a genuine Brad Pitt quote for which the team made a mistake in glorifying it before the public. Let’s break it down.

Let’s take “I think happiness is overrated” as a quote on its own merit, since it’s logical to do so and it “fits” that designation in the context of the full quote anyway.

So, I don’t know about you, but if I overheard someone saying, “Happiness is overrated,” and they sounded sincere, I would feel that the person who said it must be very depressed and sad; possibly on the edge of considering suicide.

I mean, how does a normal, intelligent, well-balanced person see this as some sort of “life-coaching” aid or positivity-boosting inspirational quote? Outside of a tragically-depressed person, can we legitimize a person who really believes that happiness in life – that mostly wonderful thing we literally exist for and enjoy and do all we can to protect from death - is overrated? Seriously?

Next, Brad reaches to dispense further “wisdom” when he says, “Satisfied, at peace – those would be more realistic goals.” Goals… what goals Brad? Do you have anything descriptive in mind for the “goals” of which you speak? Or is this to be taken as a wide generalization of the meaning of “goals?”

Perhaps you are inferring that if one feels happy, they really aren’t happy unless they come to an understanding that they must create some “goal” for themselves to accomplish, and if they don’t then they are living a lie by thinking they are happy. Could this be your intended meaning Brad?

“Satisfied, at peace…” Oh wise Brad, we beg of you - please reveal to us the meaning of your wisdom in attaining the feeling of being satisfied, and then your meaning in attaining the position of being “at peace.”

I believe that possibly the most important question here is, does Brad Pitt actually think that people that are happy are missing something that all the other unhappy but goal-influenced people are enjoying?

I would say, “Yes.” That’s what his quoted words are saying to me. In my opinion, it’s impossible for happiness to be overrated, and saying that it is overrated is a ridiculously stupid thing to say. Suggesting that being unhappy and spending time discovering goals for oneself makes for a better existence is a confused, irrational conundrum emitted from Brad’s less-than-knowledgeable mind.

Or, the mind of Brad Pitt’s staffer, that actually regurgitated this quote.

_{What Does Brad Know? © free-reign 2020}

Sources for images used in this post:

_{Quote Photo: Image by Quinn Kampschroer from Pixabay
Wax Brad Pitt: Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay
Street Dancer: Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay
Family: Image by White77 from Pixabay}