You're a Philosopher, Charlie Brown

I've always had a soft spot for Peanuts' Charlie Brown. I loved the comic strips when he and his best friend Linus would sit under a tree and discuss the mysteries of life.

Most comic strips are, of course, about superheroes but Charlie Brown is one of life's losers, perpetually insecure and always having to pick himself up from the latest disappointment that life has served up for him.

I recently stumbled on this article about the philosophy of Charlie Brown. It's an interesting read although I don't agree with it's opinion that Peanuts was about coping with the meaninglessness of life. I think Charlie's Wikipedia entry puts it better:

"It could be considered a metaphor about God; The other characters have given up on the idea of his actual existence (and Snoopy has stopped caring altogether, indulging in pilot fantasies), but Linus and Charlie Brown haven't stopped hoping that he is out there. When Charlie Brown insanely continues to play ball on a rainy day, he is essentially declaring his hope for God, and a determination to find God"