Life is simple.
Go ahead, think that it is false. Think
of changing social norms, complicated social barriers, complex problems in need
of even more complex solutions, and the ever-long struggle of balancing work life
and social life. Think of the loops you must jump through on a daily basis in
conversations, in mannerisms, and in tangible products. Think of complicated
social hierarchy both here and abroad. Even in the way we, in America,
introduce two people previously unfamiliar with each other by introducing first
the more esteemed to the less esteemed, and then vice versa. In some countries
that have a caste system, people cannot marry or, sometimes, even speak with a
member of another caste. Their lives are run by concern of following the rules of
their specific caste. Traveling a bit away from that way of thought, think of
your daily routine and what it involves. Perhaps you have three classes, three
meetings, a lot of homework, and two friends who are in the cruxes of crisis.
In this situation you are concerned with scheduling, time management, being
both a good listener and an aid to your friends, achieving, stress management,
and maybe even motivation.
Yes, it all does sound quite
complicated. But at the base of it all, it’s not. Questions like “Why are we
here?”, “What is my purpose?”, and “How can we coexist?” make the world and
life sound so much more complicated than they are. They are necessary
questions, but their answers are surprisingly simple. Albert Einstein once
said, “Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex…It takes a
touch of genius – and a lot of courage – to move in the opposite direction.” I
think this idea connects well, if not completely, with W. E. B. Dubois’s “On
Being Crazy.”
In this short story, Dubois paints a
picture of the narrator, who is African American, doing various things that, if
they were allowed for him to do, would be showing “social equality.” In the
story, if an action shows social equality, it is taboo. The reason the quote
fits is the narrator’s responses to the situations when a white man says to
him, “But that’s social equality.” For instance when the narrator goes into a
restaurant and sits down to eat, the white man eventually says, “Are you aware,
Sir, that this is social equality?” The narrator’s response is: “Nothing of the
sort, Sir, it is hunger.” This pattern of someone mentioning “social equality”
in shock or in protest which is then answered by the narrator’s description of
the simple task or feeling (like hunger, exhaustion, cleanliness) is continued
throughout the short story.
Dubois in this story is asserting
that these issues come down to life’s simplest ways: eating, sleeping, moving,
and basic hygiene. It is not life that is complicated. It is us, the foolishly
intelligent humans, who make it complicated. We create the social norms and
barriers that prevent life from carrying on as it should: simply and freely. It
is not a matter of checking your skin color and then deciding if the restaurant
will suit your needs based on that. It is a matter of knowing you are human and
finding food to suit that basic sustenance need. We over-complicate things by concerning
ourselves with fickle differences. The ultimate question I find is, as Rodney
King or Jack Nicholson would say, “Why can’t we all just get along?”
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