I collect quotes. I find them useful in many ways.
To me, a good quote helps me form a mental image of the world that I hadn’t noticed before. I understand the world in a clearer way or, if I am open and receptive, in an entirely new way. A good quote can help me make more sense of the world.
Here is a quote I came upon not too long ago. I am adding it to my collection. It’s by C.S. Lewis, a quotable guy if ever there was one. Lewis wrote: “The most dangerous ideas in a society are not the ones being argued, but the ones that are assumed.”
I locked onto this quote because I understood the author’s point to be that people want to argue about this side or that side or a third side of any given idea (political ideas as an example), but the most important aspect to be examined is how these ideas figure into our big picture of reality.
A person on the left thinks their ideas are obviously correct and comport with reality while someone on the right is just as sure their solutions fit with the World as it is. Both sides are sure society would be a better place if we all could come to an agreement on the correct big ideas. The danger comes when the big ideas are backed by force of some kind whether it be political coercion or the more subtle pressure from societal assumptions. The bigger danger is when we don’t question our assumptions about what we think we know about how the world happens to be. We can’t see or believe we might be wrong about those assumptions.
Part of the problem is likely the very human tendency to resist admitting we might be wrong, especially when it comes to politics. I’ve invested all this emotional capital—not to mention any financial resources—in this person or party or ideological position and it would be disappointing and depressing to understand that I have been wrong. Just as it is comforting to have my biases confirmed, It is a misery to have my beliefs dashed.
Perhaps my problem is the need to be right about so many things. It just might be that for me, living in the world of “maybe” is the best course.
I carry in my head a scene from “Northern Exposure,” one of the great TV shows of the 1990s. It is a story told by Marilyn Whirlwind of the Tlingit clan.
There was a warrior who had a fine stallion. Everyone said how lucky he was to have such a horse.
“Maybe,” he said.
One day the stallion ran off. The people said the warrior was unlucky.
“Maybe,” he said.
The next day the stallion returned, leading a string of fine ponies. The people said it was very lucky.
“Maybe,” the warrior said.
Later, the warrior’s son was thrown from one of the ponies and broke his leg. The people said it was unlucky.
“Maybe,” the warrior said.
The next week the chief led a war party against another tribe. May young men were killed. But because of his broken leg, the warrior’s son was left behind, and so was spared.
I understand the best course of action is to be willing to accept that one might be wrong. It might be best to default to a position of “maybe” when it comes to ideas and assumptions about the world. It might be wisest to be open to other possibilities.
Of course, I might be wrong.
Norman Knight, a retired Clark-Pleasant Middle School teacher, writes this weekly column for the Daily Journal. Send comments to [email protected].
