My Charlie Brown Obsession

I love Charlie Brown.

Let me rephrase that. I love the comic strip Peanuts.

It's one of the great pieces of philosophical pop culture. Charles Schulz created an amazing cast of characters to embody the subconscious of our childhood. The Know-It-All. The Smart kid. The Little Sister. The Tom Boy. The Follower. The Smelly Kid. The Wise Old Dog. They all exist in the world of Charlie Brown.

What makes the strip work is that is was poignant and funny all at the same time.

But I think what I really loved about Peanuts was how Schulz wasn't afraid to make an insecure, lonely,  lost, introspective, always means well protagonist who never wins and doubts himself, especially in the areas of the opposite sex. But he keeps on truck'n!

 
 
Most kids shows or comics have a confident main character who we know will eventually get the girl or save the day. But not Charlie Brown. He was the original George Costanza.

Growing up, I always saw myself as these two characters. Unsure. Terrible with women. Bad at sports.

While many see that as "sad" I would argue that many are just afraid to look at the darker parts of their personality or character. But if we don't acknowledge our weaknesses, how can we change? How can we aspire to greater things?

Not that I'm any better or worse today in those areas, but through these characters created by very smart men (Larry David of Seinfeld and Schulz), I'm able to see the truth within me and fight the urge to just embrace my weaknesses and continue forward, looking for ways to be better than I was yesterday. They become reality mirrors that I must face to become the best version of Paul Moomjean I can be.

That's what popular culture should do.

And Schulz agrees with me, I think. On a radio special about the man, the host commented:

Charles Schulz said he saw himself in some of his characters. He recognized himself in Charlie Brown's continued failures. In Snoopy's humor. In Lucy's moments of anger. And in the insecure feelings of Linus. Some of the situations in "Peanuts" seem to have developed from Mister Schulz's own life experiences.

So maybe seeing ourselves in another's creation is the ultimate complement we could give them.