"...once acted like a child."
Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 7:00 pm
I think Kat has written a profound truth here in the last pannel of his recent page: "That's the price of growing up... being reminded that you once acted like a child[.]" How true! Like reading an old journal or studing history, being reminded of our past is part of becoming a mature people, and we all have to face the fact that mistakes were made. But it's embarrassing , isn't it? Realizing how ignorant we were... But I think the character who spoke these words really has the right attitude: in remembering our mistakes, we shouldn't be held down by the embarassment they bring us or even the guilt. How can that benifit us or the ones we wronged? No. To have our minds and actions change is the greatest form of justice. (Side note: What do you think is the importance of forgiveness, and what role does it play in justice?)
Even after learning the "error of our ways", it's hard to act differently after being one way for so long. Part of it, I guess, is having people come to associate us with this trait we now know is bad. Our friendships were based on it. Who our enemies were was based on it. Doing the right thing changes who we are! But is that a bad thing? I heard something recently I believe is spot on (I think Henry David Thoreau may have said it) that it is perfectly acceptible to believe one thing today and the complete oppisite tomorrow, as long as we know why we believe it and believe it whole-heartedly. The two writers who wrote those awful thing now understand what they wrote was complete gobbledygook, and that they were fools to denounce something they knew next to nothing about. If they continued writing agianst boinkberries just so they wouldn't look like fools, then they would have been even greater fools. Isn't it far better to feel like a fool than to act like a fool? I have a lot of respect for them now because they decided to accept the consequences of their actions instead of taking the easy way out by continuing to do something they know is wrong. Their former supporters will angery, sure. Their publishers and editors will certaintly be infuriated. But whatever they've lost pales in comparrison to what they've gained, and what they've gained is a new place in truth; a wiser view of how things are; delight in that knowledge; and better, stronger, wiser friendships.
We could all learn something from that, I think. I know I did. What a wonderful thought! Yes; we're going to be embarrassed by some of the things in our past. People will laugh at our mistakes days, months, or even years after the fact; perhaps they will laugh over our very graves, and to Hell with them... because now we know. We learned. We matured. We grew. We became better. If we can forgive ourselves for where we've been, we can move on and help others not to fall into the same holes. After all, that's what growing up is all about.
Even after learning the "error of our ways", it's hard to act differently after being one way for so long. Part of it, I guess, is having people come to associate us with this trait we now know is bad. Our friendships were based on it. Who our enemies were was based on it. Doing the right thing changes who we are! But is that a bad thing? I heard something recently I believe is spot on (I think Henry David Thoreau may have said it) that it is perfectly acceptible to believe one thing today and the complete oppisite tomorrow, as long as we know why we believe it and believe it whole-heartedly. The two writers who wrote those awful thing now understand what they wrote was complete gobbledygook, and that they were fools to denounce something they knew next to nothing about. If they continued writing agianst boinkberries just so they wouldn't look like fools, then they would have been even greater fools. Isn't it far better to feel like a fool than to act like a fool? I have a lot of respect for them now because they decided to accept the consequences of their actions instead of taking the easy way out by continuing to do something they know is wrong. Their former supporters will angery, sure. Their publishers and editors will certaintly be infuriated. But whatever they've lost pales in comparrison to what they've gained, and what they've gained is a new place in truth; a wiser view of how things are; delight in that knowledge; and better, stronger, wiser friendships.
We could all learn something from that, I think. I know I did. What a wonderful thought! Yes; we're going to be embarrassed by some of the things in our past. People will laugh at our mistakes days, months, or even years after the fact; perhaps they will laugh over our very graves, and to Hell with them... because now we know. We learned. We matured. We grew. We became better. If we can forgive ourselves for where we've been, we can move on and help others not to fall into the same holes. After all, that's what growing up is all about.