All the Crazy People Out There
You can still be right, even if they are not crazy.
I don't want you to be scared. Everything is going to be ok. Be brave. Just for a second.
Consider: what if they are not crazy.
What if the opponents to your belief have good reasons for doing what they do? What if they are doing the best thing that they believe they can do for their community?
Looking out across the internet from your phone or desk, I understand that there is a lot of evidence to the contrary. Some people have said some things on Twitter or into a camera. You can say “therefore…” after watching them. Many people do.
But what if, despite your "therefores," that is not true for every single person who supported the other thing from what you believe.
I get that you could imagine that they are lower down Maslow's hierarchy of needs1 than you and that might explain why they are susceptible to dangerous language. They might not have been raised with the advantages you had, learning good values.
But what if they are just as fulfilled as you (which is, let's be honest, not one hundred percent fulfilled. Significantly unfulfilled.)
OK. here it comes. This might be hard. But, just imagine; should it be possible that — if they are not crazy or stupid — what would be a reason they do what they do?
This is a scary possibility. If they are not flawed, then there is something in the argument that they bought which could make sense. Be brave. You can still hold on to your beliefs. You can still be right, even if they are not crazy.
That balance is what has made lives matter in America for 250 years. It is what makes us great. We have civil dialogue and hear each other’s ideas.
Let me be clear that I am talking about the neighbor, the community member, the voter.
I am not asking about the person standing on a stage in front of a microphone saying things for their own weird reasons. I am asking you to consider your neighbor. Or, if all your neighbors agree, the fellow person of your nation that lives in a dramatically different corner of our country.
It can feel good to see those short internet clips of people you disagree with saying things that sound certifiably insane. If they are crazy you don't need to consider them anymore.
Just as a thought exercise, is there anything you have heard from people “on your side” you would not want to be associated with?
And do you do crazy shit sometimes? I was just wondering. I don't think I know a human being that does not say or do some really wacky stuff on occasion. I certainly have. I don't like to think about it. Once I was driving down a country highway in my old truck with half my body stuck out the driver side window yelling "my heart is a furnace!" That was pretty crazy. Glad you don't have any video footage of that. Glad you don't ask me to explain what was going through my head. I am not quite sure. I ask your grace and understanding.
Is that true for you as well? Would you like some grace for the crazy shit you have done?
For a moment, overlook the choices we are offered: the candidates, camps, banners, the slogans. The playlists, the products, the characters, the clothes. Overlook the message your side is telling you about their side; the folks on the stage, however well intentioned, have a desired outcome.
Be brave. Why could someone want lives to matter? What would be a vision of a nation that is great again? What hard question could you ask yourself about them if they were not crazy?
If there is a slight chance that some of the people you disagree with are not insane, you can have hope for us all.
Merry Christmas, from America.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is the idea that a person won’t consider a higher need if their lower needs are not met. That if they are struggling with basic needs, they won’t think about “higher” needs like community or art. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs ↩︎