TM 274: What question do you most dread?

There is no question I dread. Without questions there are no answers. Without answers there are no choices. Without choices there are no consequences. Without consequence there is no meaning. Without meaning there is no life.

Have you ever seen the film Good Night and Good Luck? It was a few years back, nominated for a bunch of awards. George Clooney wrote it, directed it and acted in it and he was paid just $1 for each. I like George Clooney a lot. He stands for things. But that is not why I mention it. There is a scene between two supporting characters; they're married but they have to pretend they are not because of the rules of the business. It is an interesting subplot, but that is not why I bring it up either. Anyway, these two are involved on the sidelines of the debate between Edward R. Murrow and Senator Joe McCarthy -- they work with Murrow's show. And they have this scene:

Joe Wershba:
Here's a thought.
What if we're wrong?

Shirley Wershba:
We're not wrong.

Joe Wershba:
We're not going to look back...and say we protected the wrong side?

Shirley Wershba:
Protected them from what? In the name of what? What would we be preserving?

Joe Wershba:<br />Argument could be made, 'for the greater good'.

Shirley Wershba:
Not once you give it all away.
It's no good then.

Joe Wershba:
It's just a thought.

I also don't mention this to prove anything about myself or my convictions. I am, for the moment, more interested in the question what if we're wrong? I imagine a lot of people might dread that question because in order to act (to choose) we have to believe we are right. But I think it is more than that -- we also have to risk being wrong. I think it is better to act and be wrong than to be right and not act.

Contrary to what I conceive to be popular belief, I do not imagine I know all or better. I do, however, believe in what I know, what I experience and understand, and I make my decisions based on that knowledge and that belief -- even if I may be wrong. When I am wrong I am happy to admit it (if also angry and disappointed in myself; these emotions are not mutually exclusive) because I learn just as much (if not more) being wrong as I do being right. Failure does not rob something of its intrinsic value. I believe it to be nearly the opposite -- the risk of failure is what gives something its meaning. I love the questions and debate as much as I love the answers. Even if the answers cannot be known, I love the questions. Every question is valid. Every question is a gift.