Bobbie Wayne's Blog

Short writings by Bobbie Wayne, writer, musician and visual artist. Her stories have appeared in The Ravens Perch, Intrinsick, SLAB, Blueline Magazine, and Colere literary journal.

Good Grief!

I know better, yet I still manage to cut my finger with a sharp knife just before I have to play a harp gig. You would think I would avoid chopping things in the weeks leading up to a show…but no. I convince myself that it won’t happen like last time; I will be more careful. This kind of thinking is one of humanity’s greatest flaws. Look at Charlie Brown. Despite evidence to the contrary, he believes that this time, Lucy won’t yank away the football just when he goes to kick it. Likewise, Bart Simpson puts his hand on the stove, burns it and yells, “Ouch” and then does it again, and again. The fact that humans are unlikely to learn from the past has always supplied cartoonists and humorists with material.

We lord it over the other animals because we have big brains, a sense of past, present and future and an opposable thumb. So, if we’re so superior, why do we repeat so many mistakes? Maybe Charlie Brown is simply a person who wants to trust others. How often has he forgiven Lucy for tricking him? The disciple Peter asked Jesus how many times he must forgive another’s sin against him, Jesus replied, “Seventy-seven,” by which he meant limitless times. Perhaps Charlie reads his Bible.

Of course, there are others who believe they can beat the odds and succeed the next time without changing their behavior, like me using the knife, thinking that I won’t get cut. Casinos bank upon people believing this. Repeat offenders, too, think their luck will change and they won’t get caught. Is this hubris or magical thinking? When Charlie Brown lands on his back or Bart repeatedly burns his hand, we can laugh because these are cartoon characters who can’t be hurt. But in real-life situations, failure to learn from the past prevents us from attaining our goals and causes much pain and suffering. Here are a few examples:

The world has just witnessed another terrorist attack by Hamas against Israel; a massacre of people attending a peaceful music festival. Hostages were taken, survivors testified to seeing young Israeli women gang-raped, mutilated and shot in the head, their faces obliterated to confound identification. Since 1978 Hamas has been attempting to destroy Israel using terrorism. That’s forty-six years of using extreme violence to attain their goal, without succeeding. In the process, generations of Palestinian children have been lost when Israel retaliates.

Likewise, those who support Netanyahu’s response, which impacted civilians much more than it did Hamas, are surprised at the world’s condemnation of Israel. It’s old news that Hamas imbeds itself amongst the most vulnerable Palestinian communities, hospitals, schools, and neighborhoods in order to make Israel’s retaliation cost the greatest number of Palestinian lives. A poll taken by the Arab World for Research and Development just after the October 7th attack showed that 68% of West Bank Palestinians supported the attack, an increase that has tripled since three months ago. From the people’s point of view, after 17 years of being blockaded in Gaza, and enduring a military occupation, Hama’s action was an act of defiance and legitimate resistance. Palestinians told NPR reporters on the West Bank that they didn’t believe stories of Hamas attacking and raping Israeli women. The world has not been shown evidence of those alleged atrocities. What the public has seen and remembers are the photos and videos of innocent dead Palestinian women, children elderly men, women and hospitalized patients. Israel is well-aware that Hamas will use these to garner global sympathy, which it does…repeatedly, to great advantage. 

From 2017 through 2021, America’s president, Donald Trump, was a former reality TV star whose 26,000 tweets were so mis-leading and divisive that he was banned from using Twitter. He caused an insurrection at the Capital that resulted in the death of four people, has been charged in ninety-one criminal cases, has been impeached twice and sat out the inauguration of his successor like a child who didn’t get the lead in the school play. This man has threatened our constitutional democracy. His lies while president caused people to doubt scientific facts and trusted news sources. 

And now, trailing his long chain of follies and sins like Marley’s ghost, this divisive, immoral man is again running for president. If you ask a die-hard Trump supporter to list the improvements Trump made to America in his first term, the few things they might mention can be fact-checked. Most were actually accomplished because of Congress. So you might well ask, “Why is this person being given a chance at running again?” The answer lies partly in the fact that, second to P. T. Barnum, Trump is America’s most fabulous showman. He’s great at convincing angry, disenfranchised folk that he is their champion and that, despite all evidence to the contrary, supporting him will make them rich. Casting blame for the nation’s troubles on the educated and the well-heeled (like himself), Trump has succeeded only in creating suspicion and hate. His crude behavior and language have no place in the office once filled by Washington and Lincoln.

So, despite our having those big brains, the next presidential race will be close, Hamas and Netanyahu will continue to use indiscriminate violence against each other, no matter how many people it kills. Both know it hasn’t worked in the past and probably won’t in the future. Charlie Brown will go on believing, “This time will be different,” as he flies through the air, landing on his back. Bart Simpson will go on repeatedly putting his hand on a hot stove to see if he’ll still get burnt.

But wait… what if I could change one small behavior? How about making a New Year’s resolution to avoid cutting my fingers with sharp knives ahead of concerts by not using sharp knives right before a gig! If I can change, so can anyone. What if, throughout the world, we took a hard look at ourselves, opposable thumbs and all, and figured out the actions and beliefs we need to change that have repeatedly failed to make things better? If we spent our time and treasure trying to improve life on this little planet instead of repeating past mistakes, we could be happier. There are enough truly smart people in every nation who could gather together and brainstorm some alternative solutions. If we let bullies decide the future, we will get the future we deserve; a future where we get the ball pulled out just as we were about to kick it and continually burn our hands on the hot stove.

Here’s to a thoughtful new year for all of us.

“When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn?” ( from “Where Have All the Flowers Gone,” by Pete Seeger.

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A TWELFTH NIGHT THOUGHT
CONSIDERING GIFTS
 

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Tuesday, 05 November 2024