On Monday I read David's Raptitude post "Never forget your rights" which is beautiful, concise and idealistic and on Tuesday I met a guy who preaches this atittude in day-to-day practical issues. It was wonderful and heartbreaking to watch him speak, sharp as a razor yet reducing efficiency to absurdity.
We are not all somehow "supposed" to be free, or intelligent, or capable, or verbal, or anything. We can or cannot be those things but we are not supposed to be one way or the other.
Oogvay says: "Ah, Shifu. There is just news. There is no good or bad."
Nietzsche says: "There are no facts, just interpretations."
Sometimes every person wants to believe (some more than others) that there is benignity, wisdom and adequacy in other people but sometimes it just isn't there. Sometimes we all want to believe that the person we're talking to is hearing us and understanding what we're saying but this may be wishful thinking.
We should finally learn that we should not impel fishes to fly. Fishes may live better swimming. We may get along with fishes better if we help them to swim instead to fly.
To help others search is admirable, to help every person become the most they could be is valuable - but we should not presuppose people are meant to be what we would like them to be. Sometimes the most you can do for another person is to leave them alone. To let them be what/how THEY think they should be.
"My freedom to wave my arms around me stops at the point where your nose begins.", somebody said once.
Everyone should have the same right to be free - and not only to choose between being free or not but also to choose not to choose - to take life as it comes to them, smart and stupid alike.
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