Believe

I recently had a conversation with a group of men who I generally respect. I was describing my line of work and the population that I often encounter on a regular basis. During the conversation one of the men looked me in the eye and proclaimed “well let’s just agree on one thing, there are some worthless people in the world.” I looked up from my sandwich and calmly stated “no, I couldn’t disagree with that more strongly.” It wasn’t a fight or even a disagreement. Simply stated, I couldn’t do my job if I thought I had to start each session by assessing if that person was worth the effort. More importantly, however, is the idea that we all have a part to play. I suppose it is a tenant of stoicism to say that everyone has a roll to play in society, and that it takes all roles being fulfilled in order for our culture to continue. I sometimes bring up the idea that the janitor is as important to the profit margins at McDonald’s as the CEO is. One would certainly suffer without the other. Thus, everyone is important. It’s a reasonable question then, to ask about those who abuse and neglect the vulnerable among us. Perhaps it makes sense to question the motives of a “young thug” who finds his only prospect for the remainder of his life to live and die while incarcerated. Surly these are wasted lives, correct? For my part, I still disagree. My general philosophy is that all people make the best decision they can at the moment they make it. When we, in our own lives make mistakes it is not often for the sake of committing an error. Rather, it is to meet a need, or to try and fit in. While there are in fact those among us who suffer from psychotic and violent symptoms, most individuals who find themselves offending others felt trapped into doing so. They were often taught to be offenders, or were somehow convinced that it was the only way to survive. Regardless, the solution to the problem of offensive behaviors is not to lock everyone up and to throw away the key. The country of Australia has been a wonderful social experiment that proved strongly suggested that violence was not genetic. Instead, we must all take responsibility for existing in a system that marginalizes large portions of society so that they are forced into these traps of choosing between two bad options. Consider for a moment that a rational thinking person could find themselves in a situation where hurting another person, or inflicting physical and emotional harm on another person was the last best answer. Consider how truly awful their existence might be if hurting another person was a step in in the right direction. I certainly do not suggest that we all share the obligation to feel guilty. Instead, I believe that we all have a great opportunity to contribute to a solution where the young and marginalized believe that they have worth, and that society at large will embrace their talents and contributions. The idea that everyone has something of value to contribute is actually far more believable to me than the idea that there are groups of people who would be incapable of improving society.