UNTENABLE adjective
Something that cannot be defended or maintained. A situation that is not sustainable for the long term.
When You Don't Like It, Reason it Away.
Arisotle suggested reason, that is, rational thought, was the thing that mainly differentiated human-kind from other animate life-forms on the Earth. Since then there have been many attempts to define what makes humans human, and all of them it seems have come up short. 1 Even if it is not a distincly human capability, reason is certainly a powerful tool, and one that we humans can use with incredible dexterity. And like any tool, reason can help, and it can hurt.
No one questions the human tendancy to avoid facing unpleasant realities. It is no surprise that we'd rather take the easy path whenever possible. 2 And one of our realities is: We Can. Reason gives us the ability to work out alternate scenarios to explain away what we don't want to accept.
A Few Examples
"I can't go to school today, Mommy. My tummy hurts."
"If they didn't want me to have that money, they wouldn't have left it there."
"That Jim Jones is such a nice man. Oh look! Coolaid!"
How To Tell You're Doing it Wrong
The tool of reason can take us pretty much anywhere we want to go if we're willing to abuse it. Identifying the difference between proper use of reason and improper use brings us back around to that ugly thing: reality.
Reality and reason produce truth. Provable, reproducable, self-evident truth. Like gravity, reality is functionally the same for everyone. Perception does not change it. It is true whether you want to believe it or not. It is real.
What People Call Reality Often Isn't
It gets messy when people start talking. Words and the whole gooey process of communication easily transform a reality into something unrecognizable. The power of persuasion mixed with a williness to avoid a reality at all costs are a potent weapon in the hand. When this communication is aimed at people who are already afraid of the reality discussed, the twisted logic finds fertile soil.
If there is a good thing it is this: Falsehood cannot stand. Yes, it may be perpetuated for long periods of time, even lifetimes or longer when huge groups of people own it. But falsehood cannot withstand scrutiny. Rigorous dissection and comparison to known standards, testing for accuracy, and repetitive examination all producing the same result will show a falsehood for what it is.
All the while, as long as reality is avoided, people are happy. Like frogs in a kettle.
Let's Pretend Gravity Doesn't Exist
"Well that's silly," you say. And you're right. It is silly. Just like it's silly to perpetuate all the other fantasies we love so dearly. They insulate us from the cold reality all around us. They make us feel better about ourselves and our situation. They make our lives tenable.
The great thing is that in the end it doesn't matter whether you ever faced reality or not. At least not for you. You won't have any of those worries anymore.
Unfortunately, your children's reality and their children's reality, will be shaped by how you dealt with yours. You might want to keep that in mind as you go.
Reality, for me, is a Thing that Works. I can't fathom the thought of trying to "kick against the pricks". 3
