The proper quote, attributed to Plato, can be summarized by “The real tragedy of life is when people are afraid of the light.”
The PhD student in me knows that this is a reference to Allegory of the Cave. Also by Plato.
In the cave the only perspective is that of what is projected on the walls. What you see projected on the walls is entirely left up to your own experiences.
For example, if a republican was attracted to a drag queen they would question their manliness and therefore be afraid of drag queens exposing their secrets. But they can’t be afraid of something so silly, so they hate it. Worse, they teach others to hate the shadows on the wall of the drag queen as well.
Oh. This argument got a bit away from me. I don’t mean to point fingers, but if the pattern on the wall fits…
The Allegory of the Cave is also about truth. It is a warning not to take the easy path and believe everything your eyes tell you.
Or believe what the voice on the television or podcast tells you.
Critical thinking is a must, especially in these times when the wrong voices and the wrong actions are vying for our attention and our belief.
In simpler terms and the phrase I remember hearing or reading as a child, that what you hate is something that frightened you as a child. Instead of another person just trying to live their life, they are hated as other.
Well, going back to the cave, who decides the other.
And, more importantly, why do we listen and sometimes blindly follow the hatred that is spoon fed to us in increasing amounts? Perhaps in the hopes that we will drown in filth and be reborn hating the things that caused us to be drowned. Instead of real fear of those who drowned us.
To make light of it, perhaps they were frightened by a drag queen as a child.
As Master Yoda says, “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”
Don’t walk the dark path.
And don’t believe what other people are telling you about the shadows on the wall.
They may get something out of frightening you.
Dispatches from the Evening Shift 