We See at a Distance (0r Time to Pee)

Our young protagonist waited for a pause in the discussion. The class had been discussing the nature of reality and perception, particularly as this issue was addressed by a novel they had all been reading. The pause came and our protagonist spoke, “I don’t think everyone’ thoughts are valid or of equal value.” The whole class in unscripted unison gasped while their eyes widened and their faces contorted in disbelief. Expecting that he would trigger a fascist alarm he immediately began to explain his comment, “I’m not saying that some people shouldn’t have the right to speak. Everyone should have a voice in our society. I’m just saying that some of those voices are going to be wrong or stupid, and once they speak I have a right to analyze and criticize what they say, and if it’ stupid enough I might just ridicule the shit out of it.” Some heads nodded in agreement, others merely released their looks of shock, while still others donned a mildly contemplative look. Continuing our protagonist stated, “I accept Kant’ divide between the nuomenal and the phenomenal. I realize that our minds process the sensory data of our experience, and that the way we process this information is in part conditioned by our culture as well as our personal experiences. Thus, there could be multiple interpretations of one event, or multiple understandings of the same truth.” Feeling somewhat self conscious of his general long windedness as well as his use of the words “nuomenal” and “phenomenal”, he quickly moved to wrap up his point. “This does not mean, however, that all interpretations are acceptable. To use what our professor shared with us, we might see at a distance, but there is something out there that we are all seeing and have to reckon with.” As the class quickly took the discussion in another direction (in response to some comparison made between the novel and a recently released film) our protagonist realized that he had been given the ability to articulate what many already accept but could not quite express. He also realized that the influence of political correctness creates responses in people that do not match what they actually believe. And, finally he realized that no matter how his mind was processing the sensory data, the pressure and mild pain that he was feeling on his bladder was telling him that it was time to pee.

One Response to “We See at a Distance (0r Time to Pee)”

  1. paul  

    “democracy” is such a dangerous word as I myself believe that everyone has the right to speak and yet how many times have I found myself wishing Abe Lincoln’s adage about stupidity on people? Anthony, I’ve found myself having to pee countless times but also find comfort that times my needing to pee is trumped by others’ needing to think just a little more outside the box.