Chapter 13 Scratching at Fleas
It's been a while. Actually, I thought I was through ranting, but today I realized there were still some fleas I had to scratch at.
There are a lot of people in the world who think they know what is best for everyone else and are determined to force their ideas on the rest of us. This is especially annoying to those of us who do know or at least are more open-minded to what is best. Why is it those with closed minds can't also keep their mouths closed?
You can't force your ideas on others. That only leads to anger and resentment. Even if the ideas are good. Ideas must be explained with necessary consideration for the listener's perspective. Looking at the problem from the other guy's perspective makes it easier to come up with a way to convince them the solution was actually their own idea or at least a variant of it. Teaching is not a one-way street. It requires give and take from both the student and the teacher. A good teacher's students won't realize they've been taught. At best, they will think they've been inspired.
Teaching is not about forcing ideas down someone's throat. It isn't even about just telling someone the answers. It is about helping others figure out the answers for themselves. This is no easy task.
You can lead a horse to water but to get a human to drink from the Pierian springs, the mythical fountain of knowledge; well, that is like trying to rid a dog of fleas. It takes herculean efforts and an occasional dunking in the river. The fleas of ignorance must be drowned in a river of facts and brushed out with a comb of common sense. Scratching at them just doesn't hack it. It does feel good though.
For many, inflicting their ideas on others is a mission. They actually think they are helping others and don't realize they are only helping themselves. They think, "What a wonderful world it would be if everyone thought as I do." They don't realize that diversity of ideas is one of the things that makes this world wonderful.
For others, forcing their ideas on their fellow men is all about control. Control gives them a sense of worth. This is an unfortunate delusion. Marcus Aurelius a respected Roman emperor said, "You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength." Even the most successful people realize that "time and chance happeneth to them all."
Me: Knock, knock.
You: Who's there?
Me: Control Freak. ―Now you say, control freak who?
You: Control Freak who.
Me: No, no. Like this Control Freak who?
You: Control Freak who!
Repeat the last two lines until you get the joke. :-)
I guess I'm through scratching for now. Yes, it was futile, and yes probably hypocritical. I'm not perfect, just close. And I did enjoy the scratching. Besides, perfection is overrated. I 'll leave you with my favorite quote from our own @MoodyMooseMouse :
"The meaning of life is to live. By chance I belong to today, existing as I should, perfectly imperfect."
*Speaking of imperfections. I found that it is a herculean effort to determine if the "H" in herculean should be capitalized! AP style guide says no. Oxford English dictionary says yes. The online grammar checker says maybe suggesting you capitalize it. Others are mixed. The Google A.I. answer implied that it should be but failed to capitalize it in their examples. Perhaps you only capitalize it when you are referring to the actual efforts of Hercules? If so, why couldn't they just say that? Is there anything more imperfect than internet search results?
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