There are times when I feel like Don Quixote, at least the way he was portrayed in Cervantes novel. He was portrayed as an altruistic individual attempting to restore chivalry to the world. The world he had his adventures in, of course, didn't exist. It existed in his mind based on the books he had in his library. And like Don Quixote there are times when I get beaten up! Not in a physical sense like he was, but metaphorically speaking. Quixote never gave up and remain undeterred. You can judge whether that is a good or a bad thing.
Don Quixote was concerned with moral justice. That is the theme of the novel and what the author was exploring. That may or may not be what the experts say about it, I don't know, but it is what I got out of it. Don Quixote, like all of us, was acting upon his personal moral assumptions. In doing so it was his hope to achieve moral justice for everyone. Lofty goals indeed. Now I'm not saying I hold such lofty goals, I am certainly on no crusade for justice, just a person sharing my thoughts. Unlike Don Quixote I am well aware I'm tilting at windmills! It's a frustration for sure, but a necessary one. Change can happen in an instant but also take a Millenia. There is no standard. In this world absolute value can not survive. That is the dream we call heaven.
Our moral assumptions include ethics, fairness and the law. Legal justice is not moral justice. Our moral justice supersedes personal pleasure and our own happiness. Legal justice, sometimes called social justice, is based upon the society. That's why it is called social justice. Legal justice is the general consensus of the society on what is moral and what is not. Each person in the society making different moral assumptions based on there past and experience. Legal justice is dependent upon the individuals willingness to alter their personal morality. That is where things get sticky. It is in that realm where we seek guidance. Often that guidance comes in the form we call religion, adopting the tenets of a particular practice as our own, be it Christianity, Judaism or Islam. Perceived moral absolutes maybe found there, even when they don't agree with our moral assumptions. That is what defines us as faithful or not. Well, it defines us to others anyway.
So like Don Quixote I often find myself defending a moral value, one that is absolute to me, against the ever changing values of society. I do so for the benefit of future generations, not for myself. Yes I'm tilting at windmills on occasion. But the effort is not wasted if it causes just one person to pause. Yes, I may seem silly at times, I can be annoying, and am sometimes dismissed, just as Don Quixote was. Sometimes folks will say or do whatever, just to get me to move on. I'm aware of all that.
Don Quixote, hero or fool? There is much debate among scholars and casual readers about that. I can see both in him. He's a fool to believe that he can effect change in a world that does not agree with his moral absolutes, the code of Chivalry. He's a hero for at least trying. Nothing gets done if you don't try and that is where the value lies, in the effort. Much as if a soldier on the battlefield charges the enemy and is killed, it was foolish. If he charges the enemy and emerges the victor, he's a hero. In societies opinion today everyone is a hero, that's the narrative. Quixote however I think would not be judged as such. In society today he would certainly be derided as a bigot, prejudicial or worse. I have been called all of those things and more. And like Quixote I remain undeterred. I certainly don't think of myself as a hero, nor do I think I'm a fool. But, the thing is, I don't get to decide that at all. That is for future generations to decide. Most likely I wouldn't be happy with either answer.
Don Quixote was concerned with moral justice. That is the theme of the novel and what the author was exploring. That may or may not be what the experts say about it, I don't know, but it is what I got out of it. Don Quixote, like all of us, was acting upon his personal moral assumptions. In doing so it was his hope to achieve moral justice for everyone. Lofty goals indeed. Now I'm not saying I hold such lofty goals, I am certainly on no crusade for justice, just a person sharing my thoughts. Unlike Don Quixote I am well aware I'm tilting at windmills! It's a frustration for sure, but a necessary one. Change can happen in an instant but also take a Millenia. There is no standard. In this world absolute value can not survive. That is the dream we call heaven.
Our moral assumptions include ethics, fairness and the law. Legal justice is not moral justice. Our moral justice supersedes personal pleasure and our own happiness. Legal justice, sometimes called social justice, is based upon the society. That's why it is called social justice. Legal justice is the general consensus of the society on what is moral and what is not. Each person in the society making different moral assumptions based on there past and experience. Legal justice is dependent upon the individuals willingness to alter their personal morality. That is where things get sticky. It is in that realm where we seek guidance. Often that guidance comes in the form we call religion, adopting the tenets of a particular practice as our own, be it Christianity, Judaism or Islam. Perceived moral absolutes maybe found there, even when they don't agree with our moral assumptions. That is what defines us as faithful or not. Well, it defines us to others anyway.
So like Don Quixote I often find myself defending a moral value, one that is absolute to me, against the ever changing values of society. I do so for the benefit of future generations, not for myself. Yes I'm tilting at windmills on occasion. But the effort is not wasted if it causes just one person to pause. Yes, I may seem silly at times, I can be annoying, and am sometimes dismissed, just as Don Quixote was. Sometimes folks will say or do whatever, just to get me to move on. I'm aware of all that.
Don Quixote, hero or fool? There is much debate among scholars and casual readers about that. I can see both in him. He's a fool to believe that he can effect change in a world that does not agree with his moral absolutes, the code of Chivalry. He's a hero for at least trying. Nothing gets done if you don't try and that is where the value lies, in the effort. Much as if a soldier on the battlefield charges the enemy and is killed, it was foolish. If he charges the enemy and emerges the victor, he's a hero. In societies opinion today everyone is a hero, that's the narrative. Quixote however I think would not be judged as such. In society today he would certainly be derided as a bigot, prejudicial or worse. I have been called all of those things and more. And like Quixote I remain undeterred. I certainly don't think of myself as a hero, nor do I think I'm a fool. But, the thing is, I don't get to decide that at all. That is for future generations to decide. Most likely I wouldn't be happy with either answer.
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