As humans we should be questioning everything. With that desire to question, we should be
tolerant of the quest for understanding.
True ignorance is intolerant of both the questioning and the desire to
question.
The printed word should constantly be under scrutiny.
When the recent tragedy occurred in Connecticut, a meme
circulated attributing a sentimental quote to actor Morgan Freeman. Hundreds of thousands of people had shared
and ‘liked’ the meme at the time I had seen it.
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Snopes.com later
debunked the meme, and Freeman made public statements claiming that the
words where not his.
I enjoyed the variety of reaction to the news that the
statement was not Freeman’s. Some became
minimally angered at the statement and the fact they where duped. Others laughed it off as another reason never
to trust the internet. Some felt so
captivated by the words that they did not care it was fake; they thought the
sentiment better than the incorrect nature of the origin.
That last group made me stop and ponder. Although something is inherently a façade,
people will still adhere to it because it’s a message that they want to
hear. For its modern incarnation in
relation to the internet, I wish to give it a more modern moniker. Therefore, I will dub the belief in something
even when it has been deemed wrong as the “Jim Cunningham Defense.”
Jim Cunningham was a character in the cult hit Donnie Darko. Played by the late, great Patrick Swayze, the
film’s self-help guru maintained a “kiddie porn dungeon.” Beloved by so many in the town, Cunningham
found a champion in Kitty Farmer (portrayed excellently by Beth Grant). Farmer refuses to acknowledge Cunningham’s
elicit ways because she has such devotion to his ludicrous positive
affirmations.
With so many taking ‘The Cunningham Defense’ with the false
Freeman statement about gun control, I wonder what other statements, current
and ancient, have been falsely credited.
When I think of the history books full of wise sayings, some originating
from before written history, I wonder how much faith I can put into so many
bold quotes. For too long I had taken
for granted their attributions.
BRIEF ASIDE: Now, I will not delve into conspiracy theories
that someone orchestrated this disgusting event to bring about the argument
over gun rights. I don’t think—wait, let
me rephrase that—I don’t believe that someone would do something so heinous
just to initiate debate on a topic. But
as the Gulf of Tonkin has taught me, anything is possible. What I will say is that people do wait for
events to spring up so as to be opportunistic with pushing through an
agenda. Like I said, that’s an argument
for another day.
I encourage students to understand that some elements of
history are unverifiable. Other recorded
parts have been biased. Challenge what
you have read. If a teacher won’t
entertain enlightened discourse that may deviate from what has been published
in the texts, then that teacher does not merit a spot at the head of the class.
Let me not focus entirely on history. Everything needs to be questioned. Science.
Faith. Math. At one point tomatoes were deemed evil. One person challenged that notion by eating a
bushel of tomatoes on the church steps.
Had it not been for that person, pizza would suck.
When others don’t permit such pursuits, they reveal their
fear. Some people are so frightened of
being wrong that they will cling to false beliefs to comfort them. As long as you can ignore their intolerance,
you will excel. And your pizza will
taste great, too.
Avoid the “Jim Cunningham Defense.” Even if something may be a message you don’t
want to hear, don’t shut yourself off from it.
Question it; challenge it; debate it.
Even when others doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion, stand
strong. If the Morgan Freeman incident
has taught us anything, it’s that nothing should be taken at face value. That includes statements proven false that
the masses still embrace.
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