Cape of Good Hope
Yet another lost episode of Hard Truth and a Big Hug I can now repost thanks to the wonders of Substack (nice!). Fogeys are obligated to at least try to learn from kids.
Hello, my friends - time for another episode of Hard Truth and a Big Hug - this time I want to talk about some forgotten history, which might add some new perspective to struggles too often seen and felt only in the moment.
I also talk about a long series of misunderstandings of the new - especially scornful ideas of the previous establishment, that become adopted widely, even though that creates a social schism, and also means rejecting very useful contributions to social progress.
Few things feel more wasteful and frustrating to me, than generational misunderstanding - unless we can develop the ability to open our minds again, stop yelling (and snarking) so much, and create coalitions across wide gulfs of age, race, sexuality and social standing, we simply aren't going to make it - but we won't make solid unions out of lies, either.
I'm not a Christian, but I think the idea of original sin can be a positive tool, when applied to our humility. Every last one of us passes through ignorance, on the way to whatever knowledge and perspective we acquire in life. There were teachers along the way, who stand out. Being teachers to others, is how we honour them best. But we can't reasonably expect to teach people who we don't bother getting to know! Respect is not optional here, but necessary.
Areas of total cluelessness - mental blind-spots, if you will, are no less universal than sin - error, likewise. When we start from that position of wide-open compassionate understanding, even for ourselves, we can learn fast, and sometimes do great things together.
Yes of course historically, such moments are NOT common, but they really DO happen (don't even get me started about Syndicalism and the Suffragettes) - this is not aiming for a starry-eyed utopia, just expanding our sense of family, so that finally, we all have a chance to be and do our best.
More fun for everybody!
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
