Uncertainity:
Uncertainity, why is it that I start my first blog with this particular word? I start with this word because I feel that it not only represents me but that it represents some underlying truths in all of us and our society. I know, who am I to be speaking, I'm just a 16 year old, who am I to be making claims regarding the "truths of our society". And there is merit to that, but this also sorta gets to my point: while who am I to make this claim, who is anybody to? And at the same time who is anyone to be telling people who should and shouldn't have the rights to put forward their claims. Truthfully, nobody knows the answers to any of this. Perhaps the scariest yet most exhilarating part of being a human, is the lack of answers out there. With every piece that I write in this blog I will showcase uncertainty for in truth no argument can be made that is directly undisputedly true. I am reminded of this after I finished up watching the West Wing this evening with my father, a political drama from the '90s that I have treasured watching with my father on and off for the past few years. In this past episode it was debate night and President Bartlett was rebutting his opponents claims that were too often quite simple and often consisted of just tens words. He states: "Every once in a while… every once in a while, there’s a day with an absolute right and an absolute wrong, but those days almost always include body counts. Other than that, there aren’t very many unnuanced moments in leading a country that's way too big for ten words". I could not think of a better defense of uncertainty. It doesn't have to be about leading a country, in most cases its not: almost every situation is not as straightforward as you think. That teacher who you cursed at for being biased against you in test grading, just really screwed up the answer key and doesn't know it. In our country we too often see the opposition party as our enemies, we call our enemies names that stick easy and have immediately powerful connotations: America-hating, racist, liberal, homophobic, you name it. But could be it, that there is more behind these names. That these simplistic titles paint an easy narrative that washes over a much more uncertain truth. We as a society don't like uncertainty, we like easy digestible answers that don't overcomplicate things and as a result we ignore the full picture at our own detriment. And so this blog will be dedicated to showcasing uncertainty. It will showcase what I find confident, and what I doubt, what I have a passion for, and what I am not sure I have a passion for. Hopefully, through my own stories and experiences I can shed light on the mysteries that lie before all of us and illustrate just how uncertain the answers to these mysteries can be.
Uncertainity, why is it that I start my first blog with this particular word? I start with this word because I feel that it not only represents me but that it represents some underlying truths in all of us and our society. I know, who am I to be speaking, I'm just a 16 year old, who am I to be making claims regarding the "truths of our society". And there is merit to that, but this also sorta gets to my point: while who am I to make this claim, who is anybody to? And at the same time who is anyone to be telling people who should and shouldn't have the rights to put forward their claims. Truthfully, nobody knows the answers to any of this. Perhaps the scariest yet most exhilarating part of being a human, is the lack of answers out there. With every piece that I write in this blog I will showcase uncertainty for in truth no argument can be made that is directly undisputedly true. I am reminded of this after I finished up watching the West Wing this evening with my father, a political drama from the '90s that I have treasured watching with my father on and off for the past few years. In this past episode it was debate night and President Bartlett was rebutting his opponents claims that were too often quite simple and often consisted of just tens words. He states: "Every once in a while… every once in a while, there’s a day with an absolute right and an absolute wrong, but those days almost always include body counts. Other than that, there aren’t very many unnuanced moments in leading a country that's way too big for ten words". I could not think of a better defense of uncertainty. It doesn't have to be about leading a country, in most cases its not: almost every situation is not as straightforward as you think. That teacher who you cursed at for being biased against you in test grading, just really screwed up the answer key and doesn't know it. In our country we too often see the opposition party as our enemies, we call our enemies names that stick easy and have immediately powerful connotations: America-hating, racist, liberal, homophobic, you name it. But could be it, that there is more behind these names. That these simplistic titles paint an easy narrative that washes over a much more uncertain truth. We as a society don't like uncertainty, we like easy digestible answers that don't overcomplicate things and as a result we ignore the full picture at our own detriment. And so this blog will be dedicated to showcasing uncertainty. It will showcase what I find confident, and what I doubt, what I have a passion for, and what I am not sure I have a passion for. Hopefully, through my own stories and experiences I can shed light on the mysteries that lie before all of us and illustrate just how uncertain the answers to these mysteries can be.