It has
been my experience of life so far (I was born on Dec 21 1945) that many people ask the wrong
questions of themselves and others. Could that be why, more often than not,
they come up with the wrong answers?
Questions
are too often tailored to preconceived ideas, including stereotypes. I refer in
particular to those bigots who persist in condemning gay people for their
sexuality and/or others for the colour of their skin and/or religion (or
non-religion). Whatever happened to live and let live?
Sadly,
stereotypes of all kinds become fixed in some people’s minds; especially where
the mind is so small there is little room for manoeuvre. If only more people
were to consider opening up their minds and hearts to accommodate new ideas,
confront the possibility that their approach to morality and various
socio-cultural-religious issues is not without its flaws.
World religions preach love and peace, but this requires an open heart and mind. Sadly, it has been my experience through life that relatively few religious people practice what their religion preaches. Oh, they would deny it and are quick to seek media attention whenever a personal, local or national tragedy strikes, especially any form of hate crime that makes headlines, but many if not most most are simply paying lip service to what is expected of them; increasingly less so with young people, it is good to see.
Could it
be that asking more appropriate and relevant questions might well encourage all
of us to enter into (even if continuing to disagree with or even disapprove of)
more appropriate and relevant points of view...sufficiently, at least, to leave
us feeling less inclined to impose our own?
Oh, but I
wish...!
As I have
said before (and probably will again) our differences don’t make us different,
only human.
“Judge
a man by his questions rather than by his answers.” - Voltaire
LOOKING
FOR ANSWERS
‘Who am
I?’’I asked a river
but it
just kept rushing on by without
making
any reply;
‘Who am
I?’ I asked a songbird,
but it
just took off into the sky without
making
any reply;
‘Who am
I?’ I asked a sycamore
where
angels fell from the sky without
making
any reply
‘What are
you?’ asked a river
but I’d
just keep rushing on by without
making
any reply;
‘What are
you?’ asked a songbird,
but I’d
just scoff pie in the sky without
making
any reply;
‘What are
you?’ asked a sycamore
where
angel wings were in a flap about
any right
of reply
River,
bird, tree, human being,
leading
questions in the mind’s eye, only
guessing
at replies;
questions
of identity the world seeks
to thread
through a needle’s eye without
caring
how or why;
If
Discovery the Mother of Creation,
may it
teach us to ask the right questions,
respect
any reply
Copyright
R. N. Taber 2011
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