Safety Fork, the

I was invited to take part in a protest today. I thought about going. I mean, I make fun of protesters, but I realized that I’ve never before seriously considered protesting something. I was told that people would show up for both sides and I was cordially invited to be on either one. I still didn’t want to be there, but it took until this evening for me to figure out exactly why.

I don’t want people to make decisions based on protests. I don’t want rule by volume; I don’t want victory by bigger banners; I don’t want the catchiest slogan to win. In my mind I imagine a world where people are persuaded by wisdom and reason, by thoughtful essays, by impassioned lecturers in great debates with knowledge and logic and diction and audiences who go home with heads so full of new thoughts that ideas leak out their ears.

It’s probably not realistic, but I didn’t pick a side and paint a slogan on a placard because the only way I’ve figured to make such a world is to act as if it were so and use what knowledge and reason I can muster to persuade you to do the same.