David A. Windham thumbnail

We’re All Guilty

My wife and I have a tendency to point out interesting tidbits to one another over coffee in the morning while perusing our intraweb devices. She has an approach that is a bit more empathetic than mine. I tend to want to humiliate folks for their stupidity, whereas she’s always trying to emphasize in an attempt to careen them towards more understanding. Our recent discussions have been revolving around our state’s attempt to reopen schools during the Coronavirus pandemic. The numbers here have been a bit out of control and we are a bit more cautious than most.  Although I’m not as sympathetic as my better half, I do tend to try to make the best of any situation with my outlook. It’s mostly cynical and I tend to use humor. She was downstairs in a meeting when I sent her this message: “Oh, I see what’s going on now” : 

Granted the photoshop job was a bit rushed, I think I made my point. For those of you unaware who those folks are in the background, it’s from the movie Idiocracy1.  The U.S. Secretary of Education and the Vice President were in South Carolina to push for schools to reopen and my wife was in a meeting discussing those plans.  

This essay is not about that though, because as I previously said, I’m trying to stay clear of that mess. What hit me this morning is something a bit more profound about why I’m so critical while my wife is so empathetic. It’s about acknowledging our own guilt. Hence the title… We’re All Guilty. It hit me right after I read the news tidbit regarding throwing a pitches at baseball games.  I immediately understood the childish nature of the lie. What I’ve been really having a hard time digesting is the relationship between our supposed morals and our behavior.  The best I can do is try to understand my own failings. 

Broadchurch2 was a British crime drama from 2017 that I really enjoyed. When I recommend it to other folks, I like to emphasize the writing and, in particular, the idea that the show tends to imply a bit of guilt amongst the entire small town. It’s a subtle point, but has a powerful meaning. It’s something I’ve been considering regarding our current climate and events.  Our behavior is directly correlated to the ability to control the spread of Covid-19. We elect our officials. It’s our behavior and beliefs that got us here. What is it about us? I’ve read about and quoted recently that our selfish behavior has implications related to the spread of Coronavirus even though I understand the difficult decisions having to be made. 

I’ve got a decent sense that the long term outcome of our current political climate and the pandemic is going to be good. Yes, it’s not doom and gloom… I’m very much optimistic about the long term implications. There will be some really good outcomes from this. Let me preface this next section with my own personal religious beliefs. I attend an Episcopal church on occasion although I’d likely be better suited for a Unitarian one if one was available in my town. In reality, my beliefs tend to lean a bit more towards a blend of Pantheism3, Transtheism4, and some sort of odd combination of mysticism I’ve compiled over the years. It works for me… I remember taking some sort of career assessment in our high school library which determined I would make a good man of the cloth or an artist. Back to my point about our guilt. I found myself reviewing the origins of the seven deadly sins5 and seven virtues6 this morning after a brief discussion on the current events. 

ViceLatinItalianVirtueLatinItalian
LustLuxuria“Lussuria”ChastityCastitas“Castità”
GluttonyGula“Gola”TemperanceModeratio“Temperanza”
GreedAvaritia“Avarizia”GenerosityCaritas “Generosità”
SlothAcedia“Accidia”DiligenceIndustria“Diligenza”
WrathIra“Ira”PatiencePatientia“Pazienza”
EnvyInvidia“Invidia”GratitudeGratia“Gratitudine”
PrideSuperbia“Superbia”HumilityHumilitas“Umiltà”

I should point out that although mostly attributed to Christendom, these have their origins in the ancient Greek philosophers7.  Point is, I find it very difficult to reconcile some of the behavior recently regarding our administration, the social conflict, and the response to Covid-19.  I could easily write an essay comparing each of these to the current events. We finally watched Parasite8 last weekend. That movie touches on some of the same themes. I really liked that the line “buy me drugs” line while they were getting it on. It implied the same sort of guilt she had accused the driver of. It was spot on for the writer to previously associate the vice of drugs with her own lust. I think the violent ending was appropriate and I certainly understand why the film won so many awards. I think we’ll have a bumpy road ahead until we smooth out some of the conflicts of our modern world. Although I hope that we won’t see continuing struggles, I’m realistic in the sense that in order to grow, we’ve got to overcome those obstacles. I see it like this… our world is very much just righting itself, not in a religious sense, but more in just an aesthetic case.  And like my previous essay on exceptionalism9, where I insisted that “let’s just admit where we are and get on with it”, I would say here that let’s admit our own guilt first. 

Although I’m only speaking for myself, I’m fairly confident that we’re all guilty. I’m going to try and take the hint from my better half and be a bit more empathetic to those I disagree with in an attempt to free myself from a bit of that guilt. And for the time being, I’ll consider my chocolate/caffeine addictions a virtue and not a vice, my confidence is not arrogance, my apathy isn’t sloth, and my cynicism is a positive personality trait. Sins-5, David-0 if you’re keeping score. I prefer to focus on my virtues anyhow. What happened to philosophy? Where did it go? Do we still value Wisdom or only that which is attributed to a religious text? I heard an acquaintance on the tennis court say “only God can determine when my life is over” in reply to a citywide mask ordinance.  Oh yeah, that’s right, it was impiety10 that killed Socrates. Who can question that sort of authority? Is “the unexamined life not worth living”?11  Are the vices of modern life subtly killing us? I would argue yes indeed. I might also remind folks that willful-ignorance has caused countless suffering throughout history and try to remember that I am also sometimes guilty. 

  1. Idiocracy – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiocracy
  2. Broadchurch – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadchurch
  3. Pantheism – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantheism
  4. Transtheism – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transtheism
  5. Seven Deadly Sins – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_deadly_sins
  6. Seven Virtues – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_virtues
  7. Virtue Ethics – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtue_ethics
  8. Parasite – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasite_(2019_film)
  9. Good News Everyone! – https://davidawindham.com/good-news-everyone/
  10. Impiety – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impiety
  11. Socrates – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_unexamined_life_is_not_worth_living