Eyes on the Prize

Mr. Benedict settled back against his desk. ‘It’s natural that you feel as you do, Reynie.  There is much more to the world than most children – indeed, most adults – ever see or know.  And where most people see mirrors, you, my friend, see windows.  By which I mean there is always something beyond the glass.  You have seen it and will always see it now, though others may not.  I would have spared you this vision at such a young age.  But it’s been given you, and it will be up to you to decide whether it’s a blessing or a curse.’

‘Excuse me, Mr. Benedict, but how can it possibly be a blessing to know that people are untrustworthy?’

Mr. Benedict looked at Reynie askance. ‘Rather than answer that, allow me to call attention to the assumption you’re making – the assumption that most people are untrustworthy.  Have you considered the possibility, Reynie, that wickedness is simply more noticeable than goodness? That wickedness stands out, as it were…? Let me ask you: have you ever had a dream in which, having spied a deadly snake at your feet, you suddenly begin to see snakes everywhere – suddenly realize, in fact, that you’re surrounded by them?’

Reynie was surprised. ‘I have had that dream.  It’s a nightmare!’

‘Indeed. And it strikes me as being rather like when a person first realizes the extent of wickedness in the world.  That vision can become all-consuming – and in a way, it, too, is a nightmare, by which I mean that it is not quite a proper assessment of the state of things.  For someone as observant as you, Reynie, deadly serpents always catch the eye.  But if you find that serpents are all you see, you may not be looking hard enough.’

-          The Mysterious Benedict Society, Book 2, p. 37-39

One of the most important insights of phenomenology is that of intention – the idea that we knowing subjects have the power to decide what we focus our senses on and what objects will be in our epistemic circle of concern.  It is true that we are influenced by a great many things – from our socialization to media, peer influences and pressures, education, and a host of other things.  But it is also true that we can become aware of those influences and that they become objects of our knowledge as well.  We then become aware of the fact that we can stand outside of those influences and evaluate them.

Once we develop this awareness and the power we have over influences, we can then have the insight from the quotation above.  The narratives of the culture warriors on both sides of the spectrum are terribly wrong and exist to get us to act based out of fear rather than love.  The culture warriors are more interested in being influencers and in controlling various instruments of influence in media, education, government, and religion.  They are not inviting us to pursue truth but rather to accept a narrative.  They are the fire people in Plato’s cave who cast shadows on the wall and make noises all while keeping us chained to the wall, forced to accept their narratives. 

But once we unshackle the chains and explore the cave, we come to an awareness of the influences and influencers.  We come to recognize that the cave is not all there is – that there is a way out of the cave to a whole different world and perspective.  There we discover the goodness of the world and we invite others to discover it as well – to leave behind the cynical world of the cave which is small indeed compared to the vast goodness existing in the universe. 

The culture warriors within religious traditions who perpetually posit the endless list of evils in the world are in fact atheists.  For they have looked at the problem of evil and determined evil greater than good in the world, which is a denial of the goodness and infinite nature of God.  Good by definition has to be greater than evil, in which case evil is a finite if we regard it as a being at all.

So once again pay no heed to those behind the green curtain and who would manipulate us for their own ends.  Take a second look at the world to see the good, and in seeing the good come to realize it is greater than the evil we imagine and experience.