I have vague recollections of skimming the works of great thinkers, and most of what I remember comes to me in sound bites. He who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command. The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing. The ideas all seem pretty obvious; the brilliance lies, I think, in the pithy elegance of the phrases.
Without rules, without a sovereign to enforce those rules, Hobbes told us four hundred years ago, life would be solitary, nasty, brutish, and short. The pessimism always seemed a bit disheartening, but as I watch the accelerating and insidious fraying of our hard won social contract, I marvel at the ancient insight.
My tendency toward cynicism aside, I truly believe in the words of Anne Frank, a child, and a far more modern philosopher, extraordinary mostly for her ordinariness. I keep my ideals, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart. I believe this, when I talk to my friends, when I live, every day, in my community -- both real and virtual. When I hear the stories of extraordinary ordinary school teachers and coaches. I believe more people know right from wrong than not, and try their level best to act in kind. And kindly.
Nasty, brutish, and short, if not in stature, then on just about everything else. Our new sovereign, and all those who enable him, for reasons somebody like Anne Frank, hiding in a cramped attic from an unspeakable reality, could never understand. I listen to folks talking about their own pocketbooks, their right to own guns, their God given right to possess America and keep others out. A greedy carnival barker speaking directly to them, the biggest "me-ist" to all the other "me-ists," social contract be damned.
He who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command. Guess we messed up on that one. The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing. Ah, if only.
Anne Frank again: How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.I believe this, as I watch children from a high school in Florida rise up, find their voices, call out those who will turn a blind eye to just about anything if it serves them, personally. I believe this, as I watch these children, wise well beyond their years, painfully aware they cannot undo their own losses but finding, somehow, the strength to save others.
The old philosophers said some cool stuff, but it's the children who keep me cautiously optimistic.
The old philosophers said some cool stuff, but it's the children who keep me cautiously optimistic.
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