Asleep At the Wheel

Asleep At the Wheel

“They are asking us to write a short story about someone who shouldn’t have made it out but did. Out of what, for what purpose? Are we supposed to write a story based on hypotheticals? No direction, no advice, no reasoning behind the question? I’d like to know who made up this question and why?”

“All stories are hypotheticals unless you are writing a biography and hopefully telling the truth. Look at it this way. If there were not hypotheticals where would we be?I’m sure we can agree that hypotheticals imply an uncertainty. And I’m sure we can agree there are no certainties. So, if there were no hypotheticals we would be left with only uncertainty. How depressing would that be?”

“Weren’t you taught that the certainties in life are death and taxes? Well then there are certainties. We may not like them, but they exist, nonetheless. There’s nothing we can do about it.”

“If death and taxes are the only certainties in a world of uncertainty, we are in trouble. Uncertainty breeds not only more uncertainty, but a sense of foreboding. We can look into the future and see nothing but more uncertainty.”

“Can we get back to your original question about making it out when you shouldn’t have; I can’t stay long, choir practice. And being there are no certainties as you have so graciously pointed out, then we, you in this case, are free to let your imagination run wild.

“I teach a writing class for middle schoolers as you know. Most people are afraid to write because they have convinced themselves that they can’t do it, they don’t know how or where to start. “What can I write about?” is the usual question that causes them to hide their pen and pretend there is something most unusual stuck to the ceiling above them. So…”

“So what do you tell them?”

“I was getting to that. I ask them to think of a question, any question, and then think of an answer. I give them a few minutes to think of a question while reminding them not to over think what is being asked of them. When given permission to create their own question and corresponding answer, they begin to think about what to ask of the hypothetical magician who is hiding in plain sight. That would be me in case you haven’t been paying attention.

There are a few students that are so intimidated by the question I’ve posed they literally freeze, are incapable of devising a question. It is at that point that I give them permission to cheat. To look at their neighbors question and make it their own. They have to make up their own answer though. Cheating will only get you only so far in life you know.

After about five minutes I ask for volunteers to read their question, not the answer if they have already written one, just the question. At this point I pay particular attention to those who I have given permission to cheat. Some of them did look at their neighbors question and have decided they weren’t going to read what they saw and look like a complete fool, so they write the question most obvious to everyone, “Why do I have to write this question? This entire assignment is stupid.”

I would recite some of the questions but there was nothing of significance except for one little girl, who always sits in the back and never participates. I thought possibly she had a handicap that prevented her from participating, but when I asked her mother I received the stock answer, “no, she’s just shy.”

“Are you going to tell me what question she asked? I don’t have all day you know. The hypotheticals are piling up and it’s only Tuesday.”

“OK, OK, hold on. She asked, “does it matter if something is true of false, if no one believes the answer?” I thought given the current political climate it was an insightful question. It caused me to think about the consequences of their being nothing that is considered true, and nothing that is considered false. If truth and falsehoods don’t exist what do we have to take their place?

If I question every truth because I don’t believe it is the truth, then where do I go from there?When there is no truth, there are no falsehoods. If nothing is either true of false, all we have is hypotheticals which do not take a side in the argument. It is their very nature that provides the uncertainty for the question and the uncertainty of the answer. What do you think would happen if there were no truth, no certainties based on fact?”

“Why would you ask that question? It can’t be answered because both the truth and lies belong to the one formulating an answer. If there are no certainties, then answers based on fact have no foundation to base decisions on. We can claim the earth is flat despite the evidence, and if you insist on believing the earth is flat, then it being flat becomes your truth. We are all capable of manipulating information to achieve the result we are seeking. We are also capable of disavowing information that challenges our assertions. Once you begin to doubt fact, whether it is because you believe the information is not factual, or you just believe it has been manipulated to suit your needs, then fact has no relevance, and therefore truth has no relevance.”

“Don’t we make up our own truths now? I mean, if I have an agenda, and I need to prove a point, I use an analogy based on the criteria I provide. We assume that facts used to determine the reliability of an answer have been verified, but by whom? You know the saying garbage in, garbage out? There is no truer statement to describe what you are talking about with the exception that we all have the right to chose what we believe is the truth, verifiable or not.

Once we begin to doubt the facts, then we have to doubt the truth, and therefore truth ceases to exist, and we are left with unverifiable hypotheticals based on the garbage we used to come to the conclusion we have decided upon.”

“And here I thought you weren’t paying attention. That is precisely what the little girl was asking. If there is no truth, then right and wrong are irrelevant. They are based on an individual’s interpretation of a situation. If you have entered only the data you know verifies your assertions the truth will be what you need it to be.

So, if you have your truth, and I have mine, where does that leave the country, the world? The plot thickens, however. If we each have the ability to devise our own truth based on our own criteria, then my answer and your answer and their answers concerning the truth, are all truthful. If that is the case, then what happens to laws enacted to keep the society functioning with a sense of order and reliability? Are we all to have our own laws regardless if they conflict with another’s?”

“So, what answer did the girl give?”

“Sorry, I tend at times to wander. I should get back to the question she posed and the answer she wrote. Actually it was another question. “If there is no right and wrong, then we either have to belong to a family, or we are just a bunch of individuals, aren’t we?”

“What do you suppose she meant by family?”

“I can only assume that she was referring to society, using the analogy she is familiar with. Children have a way of filtering out what is not relevant and focusing on what is relevant to them, in a particular time, at a particular place. Life is much simpler when you do not allow all the fireworks that occur daily to distract from the question. She is familiar with what a family is, and therefore if she is to live in a world that functions like a family, she needs to have the world act in a way that she can understand; the way she was brought up.

Perhaps that is the problem; how we are brought up. If you come from an environment where nothing is your fault, everything that happens is caused by something someone else did or said, it provides you an opportunity to judge, but not the opportunity for yourself to be judged. No two environments are alike. Personalities have an impact on how the family functions and how it reacts to the world. We don’t give children enough credit for knowing what is going on, and reacting to it based on the environment they are raised in.

If your family is politically motivated then they will see things through the lens of a particular focus; democrat, republican, progressive, conservative, or your family just doesn’t care. They feel they can’t make a difference, so they don’t become involved but rather shift the burden onto those who are involved therefore washing their hands of the results and responsibility. It is one reason people vote against their own best interests. Belonging is more important than what you belong to or what it stands for.

Children the age of the girl with the question, are influenced by what their family, the people they look up to for protection and care believe. They are more likely to follow their lead on issues, than at that age attempt to deduce what is in their best interests. It is much easier to follow than lead. So…”

“So, is her question then, one that the family has discussed, or has she, because of her family dynamic and what she knows of how others feel, decided based solely on the criteria she has to work with. She then applies their beliefs to her answers and then provides a sculpted solution that fits her families dynamic as well as her own.”

“Yes, it is unlikely at her age she would rebel against what she’s not purposely taught but exposed to, suggesting it is the correct way to look at situations, because they fit the criteria established on belief, not fact.

Reason is considered to be the filter that distinguishes between a truth and a falsehood independent of fact. The problem is, there is no filter that is reliable without facts determining the parameters of what is being considered. Being opposed to spending, unless it is for things that align with your prerogatives, allows you to forgive yourself for the discrepancies in logic, but then money is an abstract concept; you can always print more, fulfilling both your spending reservations and the fact that you know what is best and everyone else is wrong.

I don’t know if I could have come up with a question like the one the girl presented. My family was opinionated, and steadfast in their beliefs, but they were also strict about adhering to the facts and debating themselves on the potential outcomes of differing philosophies. I just assumed every family operated that way. It was quite a shock to find out that the majority of families base their decisions on criteria that has nothing to do with solving the problem, without breaking the bank or changing the rules. The three-part governmental system is supposed to regulate that aspect of decision making, but it has failed miserably.

That failure is being reflected in the policies being developed to satisfy the few, while ignoring the many. We are told if we work hard we will be rewarded with success. A nice sentiment but based on the idealism that life is fair. If we are as a society supposed to flourish because of our leadership, I can’t see how we are to escape and become the one democratic society that made it out of the individualist mind set we are in and become the diverse society we claim to be. One based on a democratic system where we are all truly equal, because the truth is encased in fact not the platitudes that surround an idealism not respected for its facts but its individualism.”

“Can I go now?”