Let’s talk about the Humble part first. It could be called Trying Not To Be An Asshole.
Who’s an asshole? I can define it many ways. Certainly someone who is mean unnecessarily is an asshole.
But one definition I believe most of us would agree with is that someone who think’s they are right, all the time, is an asshole. We have all met people like that, in various situations. Someone who imposes their views on others, and won’t listen to contrary views. This could be about what to have for dinner.
So I try not to do that. I try to listen. And I try to remember I can be wrong, even if I think I’m really, really right.
The Radical part is a bit different. If you look at history, it’s usually the radicals who are most right. It’s the Radicals who want to unequivocally abolish slavery, end the gold standard, have public power and withdraw from the Vietnam War (to name a few causes that I view as positive.) I’m defining a Radical as someone who wants big change.
I have sometimes been accused of being a moderate. Yuck. Who wants that? Moderates are mushy, milk-toasty, unappealing. Splitting differences, which can often mean getting the worst of both sides, is not always best.
But here’s the thing. While the Radicals can be really right, they can also be really, really wrong. Susan B. Anthony not only crusaded for the right to women to vote; she crusaded for Prohibition, one of the worst ideas in history. Abbie Hoffman, the 60s yippie, not only spoke out prominently to end the Vietnam War, he advocated stealing this book and almost anything, another horrible idea. The problem with Radicals, maybe the problem with all of us, is that we don’t know when we’re wrong, and when we’re right.
Which gets us back to not being an asshole. I’ll try to speak firmly for what I think is true and best, while remembering events and history may prove I was wrong.
I’ll do these things on matters as weighty as police misconduct and how to make a souffle. On matters such as the best blend of transportation systems, to the placement of travel signs. I’ll be light when I can, heavy when I need to be.
Actually, just thinking now, I could have also called this newsletter “The Humble Reactionary,” because I am reactionary on some issues. A Reactionary, by my definition, is someone who doesn’t want things to change, or who wants things to go back to the way they were. I am a reactionary on some issues. We probably are all of us mixtures of radical and reactionary. The same principle applies though: speak clearly, but remember you can be wrong, even when you feel you’re the most right.