Questions…
There’s this poster I’ve seen…it’s of an infant, wide-eyed and wondering as infants so often are. The caption states: “Question everything.” That’s what babies and youngsters do; everything is new, so they want to know about it all.
“Why do I have to do that?” “Why is a pizza round?” “Why is it cold in winter?” “Why do I have to wear a coat?” And on, and on, and on…
Sometimes it seems to me that there’s often less curiosity as we become adults. Perhaps lives are so busy that accepting what “experts” say is just more efficient. Perhaps schools have trained us to accept authority. Perhaps as we get older we get more firmly entrenched in our beliefs and resist change. Whatever the cause, I see more people accepting ideas they hear, without question. These ideas tend to support one’s ideology.
Where am I going with this? Recently, Congressman-elect Keith Ellison (D-Minnesota) stated that he would take his oath of office on the Quran. I heard a lot of immediate reactions….both for and against. “He needs to take the oath of office on the Bible like everyone else.” “There’s freedom of religion in this country; he can use whatever book he wants.” “Would they allow him to choose Hitler’s ‘Mein Kampf,’ the Nazis’ bible, for his oath?” “How can he take the oath of office on a religious text he does not believe in?” And on and on and on…
But instead of jumping on one bandwagon or another, maybe our first thought should have been: “Do representatives take the oath of office on a Bible? That seems strange in light of the First Amendment.” I looked it up. You know what? Congresspersons don’t use a Bible; they all raise their hands and swear an oath to uphold the Constitution. They can hold a religious text if they want, and, for the all-important photo shoot after the ceremony, a lot of representatives do hold Bibles. But it’s not part of the official process.
I don’t really care which side you favor in the religious text discussion; that’s not my point. Rather, I want to hear more people questioning: Fox News, CNN, President Bush, Al Gore, your local school district, your state department of education, the mayor’s office. Whenever an “authority” makes a statement, I want people to say, “Is that true? How can I find out?” And I’m NOT talking about questioning Rush Limbaugh if you’re a liberal or John Kerry if you’re conservative. I think anyone is capable of presenting an argument that favors his side….but is it grounded in truth?
I was teaching a graduate course once, and the question of corporal punishment in schools came up. Several students were quick to point out that it’s illegal in the US. The reality? Although it is illegal in our particular state, it is still legal in a few others. (Do you believe me? Look it up.) Many students made very clear and heart-felt arguments that were completely erroneous….they just knew corporal punishment had to be outlawed in this day and age….and they were wrong. So not only do we have to question was others say, we need to question what we “know.” In this way, let’s go back to being like children….and question everything.
Be brave. Be human.
Susan
