“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster.
Friedrich Nietzsche
I never encountered the monsters most kids worry about. No room in the only closet that held all the family clothing, and under the bed was chock full of stuff that didn’t fit in the closet.
Different house, different life. The tiny closet in this hundred-year-old house is still chock full, and under our bed is too, though there’s still room for a puppy to hide there. But monster season is in full swing and they don’t bother to hide anymore.
The monsters never seem to go away completely; kind of like football and basketball season they just go on all year, but as elections approach the battle really ramps up. Like you, I’d really like to vote for the good guy, if I could just tell which one that is. With all the half-truths, outright lies, and name calling on all sides, you might as well just cram them in a boot and shake them out because it all looks the same.
The closest thing to a closet for them to hide in, if they were so inclined, is television. So, I pretty mostly keep that door shut, and it helps not to be on social media. Newspapers are not quite as bad, but they can be slanted too, and I’ve been misquoted often enough not to trust a lot of what is printed. Doing research or checking voting records is time consuming and a lot of voters just won’t bother. Interviewers and campaign managers know this and capitalize on our laziness. Voter records may not tell the truth either; you don’t know how much the person was paid to vote as they did.
What if the reporters refused to interview anyone who engaged in name calling or rumors? What if networks banned people who used foul language or innuendo? What if we didn’t let ourselves become monsters to those who hold different views?
Some of you will recall a time when you couldn’t use certain words on radio or television. Or in your home, unless you liked the taste of soap. That wasn’t a bad system, I think. I will never forget the day my dad ran a hay hand off at gunpoint for using a vile expression in front of the wife and kid.
My friend, Yvonne Hollenbeck, wrote a good column about how such language has become the norm. Television has been disconnected in their home and she avoids people and places where careless talk is present. But what if some of the people who speak disrespectfully are your family? Well, some people have made hard choices about that too, and upcoming holiday gatherings may be smaller because of it. What is your bottom line? What price are you willing to pay for peace?
Oh, and be sure to look in the mirror to check if you’re becoming a monster.