No One Cares What You Believe — A Letter to My Kids
Hey kids, let’s talk about beliefs, shall we? No, not whether you believe in the moon landing or Santa or the Designated Hitter. Though if you don’t believe in the moon landing you’re kinda wack. Are we still saying wack?
Anyway, we’re talking about what you actually believe in; faith, politics, justice, exactly the kinds of weighty topics that should fit snugly into a 500ish word blog post. But as per usual, I think that these are actually pretty simple concepts that we can fit nicely into a brief conversation.
When it comes down to it there is really only one thing that matters: how you treat other people.
Ultimately, what you believe has nothing to do with anything because what you do is who you are.
Let me explain.
Let’s say you are a Christian and you believe in the Bible as the infallible word of God and that every single thing in it is true. Great.
Are you an asshole to people or not?
Or, let’s say that you are an atheist and you believe that every word in the Bible is not true and that god is a silly little fairy tale. Super.
Are you an asshole to people or not?
Or let’s say that you believe rich people are superior, or that black, white, or brown people are less than, or that any group other than the ones you belong to are going to hell.
Are you an ass…
Wait. Hold up a second. You don’t really believe that do you? I mean, you know how stupid it is to think that because you lack pigmentation or someone else has an abundance of it that it means something? Haven’t we settled that? Or that even if you don’t agree with someone’s religion it’s not your place or right to make that judgement? It seems like this shouldn’t even still be a thing, especially since most people are pretty g reat once you get past your pre-conceived ideas.
But unfortunately, it is still a thing. There are people who do believe this nonsense and who actively live out their bigotry. And I hope you believe that what they do and say is wrong. But that’s not the end of it. Because I can believe all day long that people who oppress others are bad. That people who spew hatred are wrong. That I should fight injustice and intolerance. But if I don’t do anything about it then I have made no difference.
Because ultimately, what you believe has nothing to do with anything because what you do is who you are. Maybe I believe that the hiccups or oatmeal raisin cookies are the incarnation of the devil. Or that the Florida Gators are the most vile sports team in the history of the universe. Or that people who say Columbus instead of George Washington at the end of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer are actually alien lizards. Should I be an asshole to those people just because they see things differently? I mean, not unless I want to get punch in the nose.
Because when it comes down to it, nobody really knows what we are all doing here. I mean not really. If you believe in the Bible or the Quran or the Betty Crocker cookbook, no one can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that their beliefs are more right than yours. And what we are all going to be left with is how we treat people and how people treated us. So keep being you, keep believing what you believe, just treat people well and don’t be an asshole. Capiche?
Lastly, just remember that if you decide that you are not going to do something with or for someone else because you don’t believe in their lifestyle, or beliefs, or choices, that street goes both ways. One day, you may find yourself needing a gay, Christian, oatmeal raisin cookie loving alien lizard to help you out when you least expect it and they may just decide that leaving you lying in that ditch is what they believe in.
Love, Dad
Originally published at https://dadletteroffice.com on March 13, 2020.
