Angehefteter Tweet
Here is a parable from a book I wrote some years ago:
amazon.com/Letters-Friend…
"Hitchhiker"
As the sun rose on a clear autumn morning, a pilgrim walked along a rural country road, hopeful that this was the day, and this was the road, which would give him the answer he had been seeking. All of his life, he had been observing the ways people interacted. He had initially expected to see many unique types of cooperation or creative methods for spreading goodwill or even just inventive celebrations of the joy of living. Life is magical. It seemed only sensible to him that we should enjoy it and work with others to enrich it. What he found instead was that people were remarkably mean to each other and in general prone to spreading unhappiness. Maybe he was not seeing things clearly, or there was something happening on a larger scale that he couldn’t comprehend. The evil, the wanton violence and carelessness. There must be a reason for it all.
After walking for a bit a minivan passed by then pulled over suddenly in front of him. A female voice called out gaily, “Like, howdy stranger. Need a lift?” As he entered the vehicle he saw a young family. They talked excitedly. “My husband was like, What if he is, you know, like, dangerous? And I was like, Honey, you have to have faith in like, people. They are really, like good at heart. Like, you know?” “Dear, like, I was like, only, like, wondering if he was, like dangerous. Not actually, like, assuming it!” “Well, like, Honey. You have to, like, be, like, good to strangers. Because, like, you never know if, like, you might needs some, like, help, from, like, a stranger.”
The pilgrim was surprised at how often they used the word ‘like’. He had heard it many times before but seeing it so often in the car he decided that it might be something more than just a bad habit. It was almost a sickness, a virus perhaps. A word virus would be a good label. It had infected their speech and was so bad that they used it constantly. Speech fillers such as ‘like’, ‘uh’, and ‘you know’ give the speaker time to think of what they want to say next. They also allow the speaker to maintain control of the conversation, since they are still making sounds and thus should not be interrupted. So unlike real viruses, they confer benefits upon those infected. Unfortunately, over time this virus reduces vocabulary, decreases the ability to speak precisely and thus decreases overall communication. In other words, people start to talk sloppily.
A major benefit of groups is the exchange of ideas. Someone comes up with an idea that fills a need and it travels through group interactions. Not all ideas are good, however. Some may seem good short-term but are weak or even dangerous long-term. A person created the ‘like’ speech pattern, others found it useful and it spread around the world, eventually infecting the entire language. The concept of word and idea viruses infecting and spreading among groups was new to the pilgrim but it did make sense that such a thing could happen. Finally the family reached their turn and they dropped the pilgrim off to continue his journey down the road.
He heard a strange sound behind him and as he turned a small bus approached. Inside were a group of musicians apparently playing a song. It sounded like a random collection of noises. The driver opened the door for him so he got in assuming that he was being offered a ride. The noise was so loud that it was impossible to talk. In time the song ended and the driver asked the pilgrim what he thought of it. Normally he would try to be nice and say something appropriate, but today he wanted everything to be truthful so he said it was awful.
“Everyone is different,” said the driver, “so someone will like it.” Seemed sensible, thought the pilgrim, but it meant that they weren’t just expressing themselves, they wanted to make a product to sell. They wanted to make art. While it was true that someone probably would like it, the argument was a strange justification for putting the time and effort into something. To the pilgrim, art was bigger than just playing a collection of sounds. Art has three parts: craftsmanship, creativity and communication. Communication meaning that one is able to capture the essence of an idea or emotion and communicate it to an audience. Those who were not good at all three aspects of art were encouraged to try some other endeavor, and as a result the level of art rose over time to greater and greater heights of quality.
Perhaps this band thought that the complexity of their music is what gave it value. However, cow manure is one of the most complex substances known. Does that mean it is art? When everyone is making art, the amount of garbage gets so large that it becomes impossible to filter out the good pieces. As a result, all art suffers.
Maybe his focus was wrong though, maybe the argument itself was the problem. ‘Everyone is different’ was another idea virus, but it was used to counter arguments, without actually countering them. A dead-end virus would be a good name. This label is useful because it shows how such a virus tends to dead-end any argument. “Isn’t that piece of art ugly?” “Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” “Is this place a good one to go to?” “There is always something wrong everywhere.” “What about Good and Evil?” “Everything is relative so looking at things in such black and white terms is pedantic.” Many difficult issues have dead-end viruses to counter them, allowing one to ‘win’ an argument about them. After some thought the pilgrim decided that the main function was to avoid having to deal with those issues. The value of these viruses was evident, but the fact that they existed, not to mention being so prevalent, made him sad.
The need that this particular virus filled was that someone wanted to be an artist but they lacked one or all three of the abilities to make art. The band was completely infected by it. They started another song but the music was so bad that the pilgrim motioned to the driver that he wanted to leave. They pulled over and let him out. As they drove away the pilgrim thought about how, although they were not dangerous, dead-end viruses did lead to a lot of wasted effort and an overall decrease in the quality of human production.
Soon a beat-up convertible pulled up next to him and the teenage driver said, “Hey man! Hop in for a bit and check out my wheels! Isn’t this such a cool car?” he said as they sped down the road. “I worked in a fast-food place every day after school and this is my reward! Neat, huh? I know some kids who spend all of their time studying, but for what? They are nerds who have no life. Losers! I party every weekend and smoke a joint whenever I like.”
As the teenager went on about how great his life was, it was clear to the pilgrim that the ‘greatness’ would be short-lived. He knew that life in this society was brutal. Those who studied would actually end up in high-paying jobs, not this fellow. They would be partying and travelling most of their lives, while this kid would spend his adult years barely hanging on. Living from paycheck to paycheck in a dead-end job.
Somewhere, someone decided that it was cool to do nothing in school. It was another idea virus, though it was more structural rather than just idea, since it affected the way he thought. ‘Think in the short-term’ would be a label for it, and it was very harmful to those it infected. The usefulness of it was that it provided a measure of success, even if just a little while, to those who would otherwise have difficulty obtaining it. The value was apparent since this virus spread quickly throughout the school systems of the country. The negative consequences were in the future. Sad, because if the virus were that studying was cool, then society as a whole would be more successful since the general education level of the people would increase and better decisions would be made.
While listening to the teen, the pilgrim thought that one way to combat this ‘sickness’ was for the government to give a cash reward to kids upon graduating high school. This would let them see an immediate benefit of studying and in addition give them a start on making a life for themselves. It would require long-term thinking, however, and this type of structural virus had been in operation for so long that it had created a cycle of short-term gains being the deciding factor in public policy. The pilgrim was so depressed by the future of the kid that he made an excuse to leave, got out and continued walking.
He really needed something to lift his spirits so he was hopeful when he heard the sound of singing behind him and a colorful minibus slowed to a stop at the side of the road. The passenger leaned out the window and said, “Whoah! Jim, you are right. It really is a hitchhiker. I thought you were spacing ha-ha! Peace Bro, join us for our celebration of Mother Nature. With nature’s high!”
The pilgrim was offered a joint as he climbed into the bus and they started singing again about peace and love and everybody getting along. It seemed pleasant and hopeful for a while as the fall scenery passed outside, and it even hinted at what he initially expected to find when he first started studying people. They were celebrating life, which was good to see. They were not just a group of guys partying though, this was their lifestyle. They were not entertaining themselves, they were reducing themselves. They had discarded the abilities and other assets they were born with. Why would someone do such a thing? There were millions around the world with so little of both, and this bunch gave them up voluntarily. It was an insult to those less fortunate everywhere.
Was a virus at work here also? This type of behavior had been seen off and on ever since it first appeared, which suggested that it was due to an idea virus, but he couldn’t put his finger on what the infected person got out of it. All the viruses he had seen today gave some benefit. Perhaps this one was used to remove something instead. Education increases the overall competence of everyone, which leads to better problem solving and a richer society. Education also acts as a vaccine to help prevent spread of idea viruses. As in other forms of life, though, idea viruses can mutate to overcome vaccines. They sometimes even use the body’s own defenses against it. In this case, educated people become aware of how many struggles others have to deal with, both inside the country and in the rest of the world. Perhaps this knowledge can lead to guilt in those who are better off or who are born with better abilities, and pressure from this guilt and the burden of solving problems can then lead to a person making the choice to “tune out, turn on and drop out”. Was the virus using the weaknesses of being human to propagate? Or were humans using the virus to avoid discomfort? Very interesting.
Self-inflicted poverty to fix the guilt over being rich and removing oneself from society to avoid responsibility for problems facing the world could be defining characteristics of a hippie. The group in the minibus were being thoughtless, hurting themselves and denying society the benefits of their skills and hard work. They were healthy and moderately intelligent so if they applied themselves they could solve problems instead of singing about peace and getting stoned. They could still celebrate life, but if they did it with others and used the resources of humanity then not only would everyone gain, but it would also be a true celebration of existence. It was their life and their choice of course, but in a social sense it was as sad as the cool teenager and the pilgrim looked for an excuse to leave.
While the minibus drove away and he heard them continue to sing he thought that the only good thing was that groups such as this die out quickly since they don’t reproduce or build long-term communities. The potential of the individuals would never be realized. It was depressing and the browning trees around the road made the whole world seem hopeless.
“Let’s go green to get our globe clean!” “Conserve to preserve!” “You have the power to conserve!” The chanting got louder and the pilgrim turned to see a pickup full of sign-waving protestors approaching. It slowed for him to hop in and one of them handed him a sign. “Mother earth needs our help to protect it from greedy corporations and those who rape and pillage the land and kill animals for sport and pollute the air and make our water undrinkable and more!” yelled one of the protestors breathlessly. “Green is the only way to live and to guarantee that our children live in a world where nature is cherished and loved!”
Humans used to be seen as part of nature, and as they were at the top of the food chain, they considered the world their oyster to use for the betterment of everyone. Reducing pollution and increasing resource usage efficiency were encouraged as useful goals for this process. Then someone came up with the thought virus that humans are separate from nature. Stewards instead of rulers. That it was a virus was clear but the pilgrim puzzled over what benefit the virus gave to those it infected. Maybe, like the hippies, those infected felt guilty over their better living standards.
Although environmentalism may only be annoying to some in the present, it hurts future generations. Those who push it do not see the real problem facing the world: unrestricted population growth. Resources are limited but demand for them is increasing, especially with the standard of living rising throughout the world. A forest that is carefully conserved will be razed without qualms when the choice is trees dying or people living. This problem should be dealt with when there is an excess of resources, not pushed off for later solution when there is scarcity. Short-sighted and irresponsible would be a good label for conservationists. The unpleasant consequences of their misguided activism disturbed the pilgrim so much that he leapt from the vehicle when it slowed for an intersection and let them continue on their reckless way.
After some time walking in the afternoon sun a bus horn blared behind him. The pilgrim moved over a bit to let it pass but it stopped and the door opened. “Are you one of the 99%?” the driver asked. “You must be since you are hitchhiking. Come on in and join us in the battle against the rich and powerful.” Navigating down the center aisle of the bus he heard voices discussing strategy for the political rally they were going to attend. “So the plan is we show up at the rally and present ourselves as homophobes, xenophobes, bigots and racial supremacists who are proud of our beliefs.” “Isn’t that wrong though?” one of the younger protesters asked. “What if we get caught? People will take pictures and post them on the internet. It’s only a matter of time before someone figures out who we are.”
“First of all, we are doing nothing illegal or immoral. This is what they believe but are too ashamed and cowardly to display. We are merely showing the world their true colors. In addition, if someone tracks us down and questions our motives we respond that we were mocking those at the rally. The beliefs and messages on our posters are of course not our own. What a silly notion. The other party is the evil one, hiding behind our open political system and using sneaky propaganda to get support from the masses. In the end it is the rich and powerful who do not want the people to find out what they are doing. They want to continue the oppression of the common man. We must stop them.”
Listening to them plan, the pilgrim reflected on how a democracy normally works. There are supposed to be opinions and positions on topics. A person or party presents a vision to the people who then choose one for a time. If the vision works out then the party responsible is allowed to remain in power and continue working on it. If not then they are tossed out of office and another party is given the opportunity to run things.
These people on the bus were infected with the idea virus that there is no opinion, that theirs is the right way and any other way is wrong, even evil, and must be stopped by any means necessary. Obviously they did not understand that this virus pops up periodically throughout human history. Believing that your way is the right and only proper way inevitably leads to fascism and other forms of fanaticism. These have always led eventually to violence and social collapse. The benefit of the virus is that it gives those infected the drive to work hard at whatever group goals they have and to win, thus it helps with the struggle of competition. Deluded and ignorant of history would be a good label here. The path they were on horrified the pilgrim so he quickly asked the driver to pull over and left the bus.
Shaking as he thought of the potential of what the people on the bus were planning, the pilgrim started to sweat in the late afternoon sun when a sleek sports car skidded to a stop next to him. One of the two young men inside called out, “Dude! Want a ride? We boosted this car in the last town and are enjoying the fruit of our labor.” It was much cooler in the car and they jetted off with the radio blasting and the air conditioning running at maximum. “Of course we are just borrowing it,” the driver said sheepishly. “We aren’t criminals. And besides, the guy who owns it probably inherited the money anyway so he doesn’t deserve it. At any rate it is ours for a time and we think it is only proper that we share with others.” The other man chimed in, “It was unlocked also so it deserved to get taken. At least we will bring it back, it could have been stolen. So he is lucky we came along.”
This virus was easy to spot. Breaking laws is ok as long as you can think of a good reason is an idea virus that has been around for as long as societies have had laws. It is also used to break social ‘rules’. Want to act in a racist way but not be labeled a racist? Come up with a way that the act can be seen as good. For instance, a policy like affirmative action is completely racist since it penalizes a person strictly on the basis of race. Punishing someone for the wrongs of their ancestors is at the core of revenge and is a constant problem for civilizations. Presenting it as helping instead of hurting, even though those helped are chosen by race alone, makes it appear good. Altering the perception of exceptions to laws is key to how this virus functions. Public officials either spend their time fighting against it, or using it to advance their particular agenda. The virus also gets worse over time as people come up with more and more creative justifications for breaking a particular law, and get used to the idea that laws are flexible. Excuses then spread rapidly through a population with the obvious result that social order breaks down. If one thinks that everyone is equal before the law, then making exceptions for one group in effect punishes the other groups. Conflict between groups then adds to the degradation of a society.
The virus thus allows people to do things a law or rule prohibits, usually to get some benefit that is either not available or too difficult to obtain. For the men in the car it was the chance to drive a vehicle they could never afford. Eventually the driver turned around to return the car to the town so the pilgrim left and resumed his journey.
Walking along the side of the road the pilgrim pondered the events of the day. The viruses that he had seen did go a long way towards explaining why people are so mean to each other, but there was still something missing in the whole story. Why would people let themselves get infected like that? The existence of idea viruses seemed so obvious to the pilgrim, why couldn’t anyone else see them? The breeze turned cold and he thought of wrapping up his quest when a small sedan snuck up next to him. The window slid open and a sullen voice called from within, “Get in.” The pilgrim paused and felt a chill. Was it the wind? Or the voice? He hesitated for a moment, but food and shelter beckoned in the next town, and the day was drawing to a close. The driver was an older gentleman, dark, brooding. He said nothing for a while as they pulled away and moved down the road. Then he started talking, as if reciting a speech long prepared.
“My son.”
“He was a good kid. Hard-working, honest, yet helpful to everyone he met. He went out of his way to assist those in need. He worked at it. It was strange. I don’t see how we were related, but we were. He was my son. One night last year he was coming home from some charity event. He was always going to those things. He saw someone on the walking on the side of the road, someone such as yourself, and since he had a good heart he had to stop and offer a hand. I’m sure while they were driving my son even gave advice to the guy about whatever problems he had. He was like that, always trying to help.”
“Did he get rewarded for his good deeds? No, the guy robbed, and then had the gall to kill my son. Can you believe that? Most likely, as the events of that night unfolded, my son still tried to convince him that this wasn’t the right thing to do. But I will never know.”
“It isn’t fair. Worthless people like yourself get to live while good people die. Parasites sucking the life out of a growing and happy society. Poisoning it. It isn’t fair. Something has to be done. Someone has to take a stand.”
“My son.”
Then he reached into his jacket, grabbed a small handgun and shot the pilgrim. Pulling over, he dragged the pilgrim out and onto the side of the road, returned to the car, and drove off.
As the sun set, and his life drained onto the dirt next to the road, the pilgrim realized that, in the end, everyone believes that they are doing the right thing. They do not feel guilty because they are doing nothing wrong. How can you fault someone who thinks that? It is not that they are trying to spread unhappiness or be hurtful. Through twisted logic, thoughtlessness, shortsightedness or ideological blindness, they just cannot see the full consequences of their actions.
He also now knew what the real question should be: Is ignorance a sin?
English
