The tears of the world are a constant quantity. For each one who begins to weep somewhere else another stops. The same is true of the laugh. Let us not then speak ill of our generation, it is not any unhappier than its predecessors. Let us not speak well of it either. Let us not speak of it at all. It is true the population has increased.
In "Waiting for Godot," Samuel Beckett presents a reflection on the nature of human emotion, suggesting that the balance of sorrow and joy across generations remains constant. For every person who begins to cry, another person ceases to do so, indicating that emotional experiences are shared humanity rather than unique to any specific time or generation. This perspective discourages labeling contemporary society as either better or worse than those that came before it.
Beckett highlights the idea that discussions about the happiness or unhappiness of a generation may be futile, as human experiences of joy and grief are universal and cyclic. Although the population has grown, the underlying emotional struggles and celebrations persist unchanged. Thus, rather than making sweeping judgments about the current state of humanity, we should acknowledge that our feelings are part of an ongoing continuum.
