To me, thoughts are fun and art is fun. The strength of our

Hear the words of Philip Kaufman, a seeker of truth through cinema, who declared: “To me, thoughts are fun and art is fun. The strength of our society should not be idle entertainments but the joy of pursuing ideas.” In these words, there is more than personal delight—there is a call to arms for the spirit. For Kaufman reminds us that the greatness of a people is not measured by its spectacles of distraction, but by the living fire of its ideas, by the visions of its art, and by the joy it takes in thinking deeply.

The thoughts of a person are not idle things; they are seeds. Within them lies the power to build nations, to write laws, to compose symphonies, to paint worlds never seen before. And when these thoughts are pursued not as duty but as joy, they become the breath of creativity. To Kaufman, art is not a burden of discipline alone, but a festival of discovery, a game with the infinite. Thus, he binds together thought and art as twin delights, both essential to the flourishing of the human spirit.

The ancients knew this truth well. In Athens, the Agora was not merely a marketplace of goods but a marketplace of ideas. There, Socrates questioned, Plato dreamed, and Aristotle organized the knowledge of the world. These men did not treat thought as dull labor, but as a noble game, a pursuit of wisdom with the intensity of play. From their delight sprang philosophies and sciences that still nourish us today. Their society grew strong not because they built coliseums for idle distraction, but because they cultivated the joy of thinking.

History gives us another shining example in the Renaissance. When Europe emerged from the shadows of the Middle Ages, it was not through amusements or spectacles but through the rekindling of art and ideas. Leonardo da Vinci found joy in sketching machines of flight; Michelangelo carved stone into living flesh; Galileo dared to look through a lens and read the heavens. These were not idle pursuits—they were passionate games with the mysteries of creation. Their joy became the strength of their age, lifting civilization to heights unseen.

The meaning of Kaufman’s words is this: a society that abandons thought and art in favor of idle distraction weakens itself, for it forgets the true feast of the mind and heart. Bread and circuses may satisfy for a day, but they do not sustain greatness. The true feast lies in discovery, in creation, in the pursuit of ideas that enlarge the human soul. It is in the laughter of philosophers, the experiments of scientists, the bold colors of artists, that a people finds its eternal strength.

The lesson is clear: do not treat thoughts as burdens, but as treasures. Do not see art as frivolous, but as the lifeblood of civilization. Find joy in the pursuit of questions, in the exploration of new paths, in the daring to imagine what is not yet seen. The greatness of your life, and of the world you belong to, depends not on how much entertainment you consume, but on how deeply you embrace the pursuit of ideas.

What, then, are the practical actions? Read daily, not only for knowledge but for delight. Seek out conversations that spark your mind rather than lull it. Create—whether with pen, brush, or voice—not for applause but for the sheer joy of making. Support schools, libraries, and theaters, for these are the temples of thought and art. And above all, when you feel the call to distraction, remember Kaufman’s truth: the deepest fun is not idleness, but creation, not consumption, but pursuit.

Thus Kaufman’s words endure as a beacon: “To me, thoughts are fun and art is fun. The strength of our society lies in the joy of pursuing ideas.” Carry this truth within you, O seeker. For when a people delights in its thinkers and its artists, it builds a civilization not of shadows, but of shining light. And when you, in your own small way, choose ideas over idleness, you join that eternal chorus of creators who keep the human spirit alive.