Philo Thoughts posted this for us:

A fire broke out backstage in a theatre. The clown came out to warn the public; they thought it was a joke and applauded. He repeated it; the acclaim was even greater. I think that’s just how the world will come to an end: to general applause from wits who believe it’s a joke.

~Søren Kierkegaard (Book: Either/Or https://amzn.to/3Mj3tab)

(Art: ‘Stańczyk’, 1862 by Jan Matejko)

I love the clown painting and the quote is so right on. There is a Netflix movie I watched a bit ago, but recent enough to be relevant. In it there was an occurrence (I believe a comet or space junk) that was to destroy the earth. The heroes could not convince anyone of the impending doom. At first, of course. But the twist in the plot is that even after convincing people, no one would act. So eventually the world was to end. Right then. With people going on about their everyday business. A very powerful and sad movie. We are now—if not headed for—our very own clown ending. Laughing all the way as we refuse to act.