Félix Vallotton: La manifestation (1893)

"I might have been fooling myself then."

I might just as well argue about the Origins of chickens and eggs as consider Decency’s Origins. Some say it’s an innate human characteristic, while others say it emerged from religious influence. Some swear it’s at root philosophy while others insist it’s physiology. Nailing down a definition seems dangerous, even though it seems like such a mild sense on the surface. I can get passionate about it, especially about its absence. I seek it and mourn it, and at times, I suppose, I even fear it. I do wonder, though, how one comes to possess it, or does it choose who it possesses? Is it possible to school someone who seems deficient? Do penitentiaries offer Decency courses for those convicted of indecencies? What does the presence or absence of Decency even mean?

Surely the Origins of Decency must be evolutionary. It must have eventually become obvious that it was required to prevent us from destroying ourselves, yet we still engage in wars. If anything, Decency seems inconsistent and situational. Were the people comprising the President’s cabinet once Decent, or were they born nasty and descending downhill since? Are they likely to ever become enlightened like Saul on the road to Damascus, or will they continue, inexorably, downhill for the balance of their already sorry existences? Was there a point where anyone roaming beyond it without having acquired at least a working knowledge of Decency was doomed? (I’m asking for an enemy and a friend.)

If Decency were merely a philosophy, then only those unopposed to philosophy might practice it. For me, living without philosophy seems impossible. I understand that others find even imagining living with a philosophy at least equally unimaginable. A Decent society must be introspective enough to at least tolerate a philosophy or two. Likewise, that philosophy really should be robust enough to tolerate considerable scrutiny, though I understand that some feel indicted by even the most innocent inquiries. We are not always as naturally tolerant as I usually wish we could be. Decency might demand no less, but the indecent couldn’t care less.

What supports the wealth of nations? More than international trade relations and gold bullion, the wealth of nations teeters on an edge of Decency. Those with wealth without Decency do not seem terribly wealthy to me. They seem pitiful, poor little rich girls, lacking more than they’ll ever possess. Could they purchase the Decency they so obviously lack? How much might that asset set them back? I feel pretty confident Amazon can’t deliver that by tomorrow morning. Those without shame, the shameless, might be incapable of holding even Decency’s hand, let alone conducting anything like an adult relationship with it. Will Decency, like The Truth, set anyone free, or does freedom demand something different to emerge? At my most indecent, I still considered myself to be a Decent man. I might have been fooling myself then.

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Tags: #Decency, #PureSchmaltz