The Pilgrims Were Religious Fanatics: Does This Change Your Mind?
" - - - you want to change the world (but) do you really believe that people can change their minds not just on a topic but overall? I mean I kind of have to, I don't have a choice if I believe the world can change I have to believe that individuals can because one thing doesn't happen without the other. It doesn't work any other way. If you do not believe that people can change then you might as well just give up striving for a better world. You have to believe that it's possible. It's not going to be an event for most people. They're not just going to suddenly change their mind. They'll be swayed over time. Their ideas will shift slowly but surely and that's what causes the change. Sometimes it's imperceptible but if you want that better world you have to believe that individuals can change. If not. just give it up because there's no way it happens any other way. In that bus analogy, some people are only going to go five or six miles. Some are going 6,000 but as long as you can get people headed in the same direction, it's a win. And, his referring to the pilgrims as religious fanatics? That's probably a pretty good example of that because odds are he got that line from Ansel Adams, but when he saw it, he understood it. The reason he found it funny, the reason he decided it was something that he could quote, might have been your conversation the year before. It's gradual but make no mistake about it. If you want the world to change, you have to be willing to accept the idea that individuals can. And, it's probably not a great idea to write them off and just be like, well they're never going to change. And sure, that's true about some people. Some people won't change, but you don't know who they are. So, just because somebody is wearing a red hat doesn't necessarily mean that they have forsaken all reason. I mean, I know that may be hard to believe at times. But, if you want that world, you have to believe that people can change, that individuals can change. And, you have to be willing to try to help them along. It may not work and the best you ever get may be them recycling a line from a show they saw on TV. But, it shows a shift and you must keep working at it anyway. It's just a thought. Have a good day."
(Mildly edited for grammar from the transcript of this episode of the"Beau of the Fifth Column" YouTube Channel on 11/21/2023)
