Today is the last day of campaigning before Sunday’s election. Things have been tense, and what happened yesterday is adding more uncertainty. Ironically, last night I was out and about discussing, of course, the election. I had an extremely interesting, and very open, conversation with a 29-year old, born and raised in the Paris suburbs, black man. As I’ve stated previously, I’m trying to get a cross-section of thoughts and viewpoints, and what it reveals, is the complexity of the human race, in general.
Conformity – though most would distance themselves from this school of thought – seems to equal security. When we are all “on the same page” or are of “like minds” things seem to run smoothly or as expected. However, the moment people branch out from one another, with their own thoughts and views, a sense of chaos and uncertainty boils to the surface.
The fact that many countries look to elect one leader is fascinating, and the fact that it has worked all these years, well, I’m sure there are a bunch of conspiracy theorist who have a long list of explanations as to why. Maybe it’s as simple as evolution and adaptation – growing pains, of sorts. Or maybe it’s what happens when people are given a voice. When we didn’t hear what others thought, maybe we just accepted that everyone else thought as we did. Is ignorance, indeed, bliss?
The young man from last night stated he would vote for Melenchon, and if it came down to Macron and Le Pen, he would strongly consider Le Pen. He also stated that Hamon, who is not considered a front runner, would actually be the better choice. We were briefly joined by an Italian immigrant, who, though could not vote, stated that Macron was simply shit. The issue of trust was at the forefront, something that was also important in our own election.
What is it about trust that binds us up? Having been given away as a child and never adopted, I don’t put much stock in trust. It’s not whether or not a person can be trusted, for if they are human, they are sure to be trusted for one thing, and one thing only, fallibility. So, it is with outside eyes and curiosity I look at the issue of trust in government. How much of one’s well-being is placed in the trusting of others? In the trusting of our government? Our president?
For me, it’s always been about ability. Who knows, maybe it’s another word for trust. Are you able, capable, of doing what you set out to do? If you fail, it’s because of being incapable, not a personal attack on me. You can always learn how to be capable – there are concrete actions to take – courses, self-help books, gurus, etc. But trustworthiness, how do you measure, monitor or prepare for that – especially when it comes to total strangers? I love watching the movies where the hero has to save someone’s life by performing some death-defying act, and then s/he looks into the other person’s eyes and asks “do you trust me?” Fuck trust, are you capable of saving me? Do you have the skill-sets to perform the tasks on hand? If not, find me the person who can? I’m just sayin’ tho’.
And on that note, I’ll keep having those in-depth conversations.