Order vs. Chaos: A Muppet approach

(Photo credit: Michelle O'Connell Photography via Visualhunt / )

If you're a Muppet fan, the inimitable Dahlia Lithwick has this fun Sunday read over at Slate, positing that the world as we live in now can be simply divided into Order Muppets and Chaos Muppets.

Here's the classification:

"Chaos Muppets are out-of-control, emotional, volatile. They tend toward the blue and fuzzy. They make their way through life in a swirling maelstrom of food crumbs, small flaming objects, and the letter C. Cookie Monster, Ernie, Grover, Gonzo, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and—paradigmatically—Animal, are all Chaos Muppets. Zelda Fitzgerald was a Chaos Muppet. So, I must tell you, is Justice Stephen Breyer.

Order Muppets—and I’m thinking about Bert, Scooter, Sam the Eagle, Kermit the Frog, and the blue guy who is perennially harassed by Grover at restaurants (the Order Muppet Everyman)—tend to be neurotic, highly regimented, averse to surprises and may sport monstrously large eyebrows. They sometimes resent the responsibility of the world weighing on their felt shoulders, but they secretly revel in the knowledge that they keep the show running."

This typology can be applied across realms, from marriages and families to workplaces -- including the U.S. Supreme Court which, as Lithwick, the courts and law writer for Slate, points out, is currently under siege by Order Muppets:

"One possible explanation for the blossoming dysfunctionality of the current Supreme Court is that the Order Muppets have all but taken over. With exception of Justices Breyer and Antonin Scalia, the Order Muppets are running the show completely. (The jury is still out on whether Elena Kagan may prove a Chaos Muppet.) Remember the old rule of thumb: Too many Order Muppets means no cookies for anyone."

No cookies for anyone. That's me, the Order Muppet of the family (without the large eyebrows), gratefully married to a Chaos Muppet who makes this life journey one big adventure. And as for our offspring, they are collectively a happy blend. 

Enjoy your Sunday.