#DiogenesDay

Diogenes Day is a holiday devoted to truth! It is the anti-April Fools’ Day.

October 1 is the Day

Diogenes Day is celebrated on a day that is as far from April Fools’ Day as is reasonably possible: October 1. October seems to be the season for major financial collapses (1929 and 2008, for example) which totally fits the Diogenes story (as you’ll see below). And . . . it’s nice to have a day devoted to truth around October 1 of an election year.

Why We Celebrate

Considering what we see in the media every day, April Fools’ Day has lost its kick. The fools have 365 days, not just one. It’s time to reclaim at least one day a year for the truth-tellers.

We called this holiday Diogenes Day after the ancient Greek philosopher who is known for his search for an honest man. Ironically, Diogenes began his life as a banker, but got fed up, embarking on a career as a philosopher and the world’s first cynic.

How We Celebrate

Now, I don’t want you to be alarmed. Truth-telling is going to be a new thing for a lot of people. For these folks, Diogenes Day is going to be a little like April Fools’ Day in reverse. I don’t see people telling truth for the whole day, at least not at first. Truth telling will be kinda like a prank. You tell one bit of truth, and then you yell “Diogenes Day!” It will be fun!

So a guy will be out on a date and it will come to that time in the evening when he would normally tell the girl how different she is and how taken he is with her so he can get her into bed. Instead, he will just say, “I want to have sex with you.” The girl will look alarmed. Then he will say, “Diogenes Day!” And the girl will laugh and say, “in that case, I’ll be happy to have sex with you.” And the guy will smile. And the girl will say, “Diogenes Day!” And he will laugh.

Or a used car salesman will say to a customer, “sure, this car has a lot of miles on it and could break down, but it’s running now, and you don’t really have money for a new car.” And the customer will ask for the keys to take a test drive, and the salesman will shout, “Diogenes Day.” And the customer will laugh and take the test drive.

Or a grocer will label his products as genetically modified—for a day. And the checkout clerks will shout “Diogenes Day!” each time a customer buys one.

Or mortgage lenders will disclose to customers on this day that they expect to foreclose within five years.

Or Democrats will disclose that they are as much beholden to corporate interests as the Republicans.

Or Republicans will disclose that Obamacare was really their idea and that they liked the idea until Obama adopted it.

And then everyone will shout “Diogenes Day!” And everyone will laugh and look forward to Diogenes Day next year when they can tell the truth again.

* * *

More on Diogenes Day

Here are my posts relating to Diogenes day and truth. In true blog fashion, they are listed in reverse chronological order. Like an archaeological dig, if you want to get to the oldest post, you’ll have to go down to the bottom.

 

WRITING FICTION IN THE AGE OF TRUMP

2018-04-09 – I spent the weekend in an intensive two-day class on writing for musical theater at Chicago Dramatist Workshop. My project is a musical adaptation of my (unfinished) novel […]

 

DO WE CARE ABOUT TRUTH IN WEATHER FORECASTING?

2016-12-19 – Today the Electoral College votes to confirm the election of a man who built his presidential campaign on lies. For months his opponents have complained about his lies. […]

 

THERE’S TWO MORE DEBATES TO GO—@HILLARYCLINTON

2016-09-29 – Okay. So Trump lost the first debate. Even Trump knows he lost the debate. For, while he’s going around claiming victory, he’s blaming his microphone for the loss […]

 

A DAY TO CELEBRATE TRUTH-TELLING: #DIOGENESDAY IS OCTOBER 1

2016-09-01 – I know it’s quaint. Honesty is not in vogue. It’s become a last resort. But if you want people to trust you, what choice do you have? A […]

 

A DAY FOR TRUTH—IT’S NOT HAPPENING

2016-08-04 – A couple years ago I proposed a holiday that I called Diogenes Day dedicated to the telling of truth. It’s a kind of anti-April Fools’ Day. It is […]

 

WHAT ABOUT WOMEN?

2016-03-31 – Tuesday I wrote about how ignoring inconvenient people can really backfire. I wrote about Israelis who ignored the Palestinians. I wrote about Americans ignoring African Americans, Native Americans, […]

 

WHO IS ANONYMOUS TO DECLARE WAR ON TRUMP? – #OPTRUMP

2016-03-15 – Anonymous has declared war on Donald Trump. You can see the details of this story and access their video here if you like Anonymous theater. Anonymous supposedly declared […]

 

 

FEELTHEBERN ON DIOGENES DAY

2015-10-01 – Happy Diogenes Day! If you are familiar with Diogenes day, you know the dire need. Three hundred sixty four days of half truths and outright lies. One day […]

 

ONE STRIKE AND YOU’RE OUT?

2015-09-29 – I noticed a number of posts on Facebook in the last couple of days in the wake of John Boener’s announcement that he would be resigning from the […]

 

I WRITE LIES FOR A LIVING

2015-09-20 – I write lies for a living. No lie. People I’ve said this to say, “No, Steve, what you write is not meant to deceive.” But what I write […]

 

NIKE. NIKE. NIKE. . . . OH, GOD! OH, GOD! OOOH, GAHHH!

2015-09-01 – Truth. The Duggar family had a code word to suppress sexual thoughts. Are you kidding me? I just learned this. The word was “Nike.” Are you kidding me? […]

 

IN EGYPT, PHARAOH WAS GOD

2015-04-02 – Tomorrow night we celebrate the 3,300th anniversary of the first religious freedom restoration act (give or take two or three hundred years). According to the biblical book of […]

 

THE DAY OF TRUTH – SPECIAL APRIL FOOLS EDITION

2015-04-01 – Considering what we see in the media every day, April Fools’ Day has lost its kick. The fools have 365 days, not just one. It’s time to reclaim at […]

 

WHO LET THE MESSIAHS OUT?

2015-01-04 – I live in a neighborhood with lots of religious Jews. There a small segment of these Jews who fly flags with a crown and the word “mashiach.” Mashiach […]

 

HAPPY DIOGENES DAY EVE!

2014-09-30 – Tomorrow, October 1, is Diogenes Day, the annual day devoted to the truth. In the spirit of the truth, I give you the final verse of Robert Burns […]

 

NEXT PHASE IN THE FIGHT AGAINST GAY MARRIAGE

2014-09-28 – Activists on both side of the gay marriage debate are anticipating big changes from the US Supreme Court in its new term that begins this week. On the […]

 

YOU ONLY HAVE YOURSELF TO BLAME

2014-09-25 – Happy New Year to my Jewish friends! L’shana Tova! To a good year! Judaism celebrates two developmental tasks in the life of a person. The first is becoming […]

 

BEING IN THE MOMENT

2014-09-23 – We’re told to be in the moment. It’s very Zen. We’re told that we miss out on life if we either get lost thinking about the future or […]

 

THE END OF PAY TOILETS

2014-09-18 – A couple of months ago, I was interviewed for an article about my involvement in the Committee to End Pay Toilets In America during the 1970s. The article […]

 

A SWELTERING 134456.7 DEGREES IN THE SHADE

2014-09-16 – I’ve gotten into the habit of looking at the dashboard of Kit’s truck when I want to know the temperature. My car doesn’t display temperature, but I have […]

 

I AM NOT A PARTY ANIMAL

2014-09-14 – I am not a party animal. I am not a party vegetable. I am not a party mineral. Yet, today I am going to a party. Actually, that’s […]

 

THE ANGUISH OF A MARTIAL ART: RAY RICE AND ROGER GOODELL

2014-09-11 – I never thought football was much of an action sport like basketball or soccer. To me it’s more of a martial art, like boxing or wrestling. It’s all […]

 

BARKING AT SKUNKS

2014-09-09 – My dog Lefty barks at squirrels. Constantly. He has his eyes on the trees anyway. He was born to a family of dogs that chased Canada geese for […]

 

NEWS OF MURDER AND MAYHEM . . . IS THAT ALL THERE IS?

2014-09-07 – The news is scary. We say this like the news has always been a soothing bedtime story and suddenly . . . a cloud has appeared in the […]

 

ON A MISSION FROM GAWD

2014-09-04 – Did you ever notice that folks who are on a mission from Gawd seldom accomplish what they set out to do? Oh, I’m not saying that they don’t […]

 

FINDING A FULFILLING CAREER IN THE 21ST CENTURY

2014-09-02 – With my son Nat safely enrolled in a pre-med program and starting off with good grades, I came upon an article saying that Millennials are finding that the […]

 

ONE DAY FOR TRUTH

2014-08-31 – Thursday evening my wife and I came home from having dinner at a neighborhood Mexican restaurant. There was a card stuck in our door. The guy who put […]

 

UNEXPRESSED MIRTH—A TICKING TIME BOMB? OR FORGOTTEN?

2014-08-05 – Back in the Sixties, it was common knowledge that unexpressed anger would fester and come out in unexpected ways. Like an overheated boiler, you would blow off steam. […]

 

LESS THAN TWO MONTHS TILL DIOGENES DAY

2014-08-03 – Get your lies out now, because come October 1 it will be “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” October 1 is Diogenes Day, but […]

 

CHILD HUNGER ENDS HERE?

2014-05-01 – Happy May Day. May Day is a labor holiday that got its start right here in Chicago. You might not have realized that since the Commie Reds in […]

 

CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO . . .

2014-03-25 – We now learn that putting your hand over your heart tends to make you more honest and that folks witnessing this act perceive this act as indicating honesty. […]

 

KINDNESS CALENDAR

2013-12-03 – I feel like a small boy at a wedding who just learned he is expected to kiss the bride. Yuk. So what has me feeling this way? Sunday […]

 

RAND PAUL AND FICTION

2013-10-31 – People are up in arms about Rand Paul’s “plagiarism” of a Wikipedia article on the science fiction film Gattaca. I’m not going to join that chorus. He used […]

 

HERNIA? JESUS!

2013-10-01 – Happy Diogenes Day! If you’ve been reading my blog recently, you know that today is the day for celebrating truth telling. But I’ve written enough on the subject […]

 

DIOGENES DAY IS OCTOBER 1

2013-09-29 – September may seem an odd time to write about April Fools’ Day. But last April, I got to thinking about how April Fools’ Day had lost its special […]

 

TRUTH ABOUT DIOGENES DAY

2013-09-26 – Okay! Here’s a bit of pre-Diogenes-Day truth. I blew this thing! And I’m sorry! If you’re not a regular reader of this blog, you may not know that […]

 

DIOGENES DAY IS COMING

2013-09-15 – Last April Fools’ Day I proposed having a kind of anti-April Fools’ Day on October 1. It is called Diogenes Day, named after the ancient Greek cynic who […]

 

90 MORE SHOPPING DAYS

2013-07-03 – Chicago used to have its big fireworks on this day. I used to go every year. Eventually, the event was combined with the Taste of Chicago and […]

 

DIOGENES DAY

2013-04-01 – Considering what we see in the media every day, April Fools’ Day has lost its kick. The fools have 365 days, not just one. It’s time to reclaim […]