What do Pope Leo XIV, the movie Sheep Detectives and a 15 year-old boy in Vermont who started Luke’s Military Museum in a trailer have in common?
Within the last week, all have been described as earnest.
There are several definitions of the word, but the meaning applied in each of these cases was “sincerity with seriousness or purpose.”
I hope seeing these seemingly unrelated examples is a signal that earnestness is becoming more in fashion as a trait we value.
In the not too distant past, being earnest was met with skepticism. People or their creative endeavors described as earnest were often dismissed as naive, self-serious, of idealistic. The jaded people doing the dismissing seemed to be channeling their own cynicism or discontentment.
Case in point: Years ago, in a review for one of my children’s books a critic described it as too earnest. (Yes there are critics of children’s books and apparently at least one thinks it’s possible to be too sincere.)
Often characters in popular culture who are earnest start out as caricatures. We begin by laughing AT Ted Lasso or Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler from Parks and Rec.) Until eventually, we see that their heartfelt attempts at making their worlds better are quite serious – even if their methods seem strange. We ultimately laugh WITH them and cheer for their success. We long to have a little more of what they have in our lives.
Previous generations seemed to have no shortage of characters – real and fictional – that stood out as exemplars of earnestness. From Mr. Rogers to Mary Tyler Moore to practically every character Jimmy Stewart ever played.
It’s worth noting that earnestness in music seems to stand the test of time. From Joni Mitchell to Bruce Springsteen to Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran, we laud their commitment to write with sincerity and purpose.
In other fields, earnestness is more difficult to find. Earnest politicians and CEOs seem to be in short supply.
Oscar Wilde’s play, The Importance of Being Earnest, is social commentary of the value of honesty and sincerity in a society that too often valued superficiality. The two main male characters pretend their name is “Ernest” in order to impress women as it was perceived to be of higher moral integrity.
Now we don’t even seem to pretend to be earnest – forgoing the quality all together. It’s worth noting the usage of the word peaked in the periods between 1880-1930 (around when the play was written) and has been less and less common ever since.
Perhaps seeing these three examples within a week is a sign that we are once again recognizing the importance of being earnest. Or maybe it’s just confirmation bias on my part as I’ve been thinking about the word a lot lately.
Either way, I’m going to resist my cynical tendencies to dismiss, scoff, question or laugh at the earnestness around me and instead seek it out – because I usually find it both inspiring and hopeful – if I only give it a chance.
Recommendation: I recently saw the movie, A Single Friend. While I didn’t think of it at the time, all three characters which span different storylines over a hundred years could be described as earnest. It is a meditative and beautiful film that explores nature, science and our need for connection.
Consider sharing this with someone whose earnestness you appreciate but perhaps have never acknowledged.