Rather an obvious statement, isn’t it? And yet, when no one steps up to confront something bad because it’s acceptable to the majority, then it really is counterproductive in terms of finding a solution for the bad. In this case, I’m talking about denials of broken architecture that clearly should have been replaced decades ago. We all know that things aren’t working right, but we don’t want to be the first to admit it. What will everyone think when you say it out loud? Being a ground breaker isn’t the most popular path. If it were, then we would all be innovating left and right. Instead, we all try to see if we can just tweak it, just a little, so that we can survive our stay within that bad architecture for another day. But would we do anything about it if it impacted us personally on such a large scale that it can’t be ignored any longer? I really would like to think that someone would call the bad ridiculous, and push for a fix or even provide a better solution.
When you see a homeless person who people ignore, what is your first reaction? Are you sad, angry, or do you even care? Most of us feel all three for various reasons that are personal to ourselves. But how many actually do something other than walk right by? Have you tried smiling or saying hello? How about stopping to talk to them for a few minutes? Ask them what they needed? Maybe asked them what they wanted to eat, and went out and got it for them. No, not everyone will do that. We hear reasons including: 1) Oh, they’re probably faking it so they don’t have to work; 2) Doesn’t he seem a little dangerous?; 3) I don’t have any money to give them… Yes, the reasons go on for much longer than what I wrote, and they are all revolving around how we personally feel about the homeless.
But what if we turn the shoe onto the other foot, and we’re the ones who are homeless? Suddenly, things aren’t so black and white anymore because we’re directly involved. Yes, the homeless connects to broken architecture because our society is in dire need of fixing from top to bottom. Homelessness occurs when something broke in that person’s system, and they fell out of society as a result of it. It’s not always going to be that the person is lazy. Maybe that person got sick, lost a job, or was thrown out from their comfortable setting. No one knows until we hear what that person has to say.
No one likes to be ridiculed for their beliefs or their words. But they are your words and your beliefs, so if you really believe in them, then you need to take the bad with the good. No one knows until they’ve tried if their idea is stupid or ingenious. For every good idea, there were a ton of bad ideas preceding them. Failure is useful because it hones in on the good by rooting out the bad. And when the bad is fixed, then all of us can be a little more comfortable in our world. Together. Uncomfortable shouldn’t even be an option.
