A Company of Fools

Everyone does it. It's so easy and...natural. Painting with broad strokes and using only the most basic colors to interpret the world around us. Were you aware there are colors called amethyst, Byzantium, heliotrope, and wisteria (and those are all just shades of purple). Here is what we do: You are bad and I am good, they were wrong but I am right, I am the victim and they are the perpetrators.

Recently I came across a show on Hulu called 30 days. It was created by Morgan Spurlock, the guy who did Super Size Me, and its conception is genius. A young man described as a "redneck, God-fearing, Midwestern republican" goes to live for thirty days with a gay man in San Francisco's Castro district. An atheist must live for a month with a Christian family and attend church weekly and go to Bible studies. A hunter must live with an animal rights activist family and participate in picketing and animal rescue. I've only viewed a handful of episodes, but so far not one of the participants I watched was the same at the end of their trial. In addition to learning more about an issue they once stood firmly to one side of, the participants also gain the realization necessary (I'm hoping) to say, like Socrates, "I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance."

The idea behind this show ought to find its way into legislation. Who is it we hate? The answer to that question should determine who we live with for a month. There is one quality I find sorely lacking in the human race and it is empathy. Even when those we hate are deserving of derision for their acts of evil, there can be something gained from understanding why they are the way they are. Personally, for me, I hate terrorists. I hate those who can kill other humans so indiscriminately. If I were to live with a family of Muslim extremists, would I come away saying, "Yeah, you guys are right, death to the Jews and Americans!"? No, I wouldn't, just as the atheist, the hunter, and the straight man did not flip over to the diametrically opposite position on their respective issues. But would I empathize with them just a bit, from one human to another? Possibly. Would I understand their position more accurately? Hopefully.

This is a goal in my life: to rise above being white, American, and conservatively-raised. I do not mean to say that I am at all ashamed of being these things, I just do not wish to be limited by them. Actually, I'd also like to add living in the 20/21st century to the list. I want to be a citizen of the world, past and present, and always open to ideas no matter who they come from (with my moral compass intact to keep me in check). I do not aim to be a preacher of tolerance, for there are things that I cannot and will not tolerate, but I do want to be an advocate for understanding. I want to throw off the fetters of PC'ism and fear so that I may see truth for what it is, even if it includes finding that which is ugly, brutal, or can limit my ability to enjoy pleasures. In other words: even if it costs me something.

This is a goal for my blog: to become a forum for free thought and reason without constraints, open to all hypocrites, phonies, people-pleasers, zealots, opinionated whiners, close-minded bigots, etc. etc. (for such we have all been and may yet be). Let us be a company of fools who know we are fools but strive for something better...to become dreamers of a higher order. To yearn for perfection and, most importantly, we reach for it, knowing that it can never be obtained. In terms of possible goals, let us strive to better the lives of those around us and those who come after us by becoming better humans. Yes, these are lofty goals; I would not settle for anything less.

To finish this post, I would like to quote Godfrey from Kingdom of Heaven: "...speak the truth always, even if it leads to your death."