I loved Dilbert when I was younger and used to read Scott Adams’ blog regularly back in the day.
His dry humour and sharp insights into both corporate and modern life was perceptive in highlighting absurdities and dysfunctions which people accepted as the norm back then.
And who has not met someone who completely exemplifies the Dilbert principle? 😂
At some point, however, I had to actively disengage from his material as he moved into increasingly divisive territory.
That shift and decline was striking to me; it seemed to take place around the same time he opened up about his longstanding struggle with spasmodic dysphonia, a voice disorder that affected his ability to speak publicly.
It’s the same condition which present US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has discussed living with.
Coincidentally, Kennedy himself is also known for a number of widely disputed views.
I don’t know whether there’s any connection between the health struggles both went through and their later public positions, and I certainly don’t mean to suggest a causal link.
Nevertheless, it’s hard not to notice how different the later chapters of their life felt from their early ones, both before and after being afflicted with the condition.
I wonder whether their paths reflect a familiar pattern among many men who encounter a major personal challenge.
Perhaps they sought support from their network but when that help was not forthcoming, the resulting isolation led them to turn elsewhere and in a completely different direction.
I hope in his next comic strip or podcast, wherever he is, Adams reclaims the kinder, gentler voice that once shone through his cartoons.
May the afterlife be more lovely and less painful than the world he spent a lifetime lampooning.
