Common Knowledge
Yesterday the cool, windless Fall weather made it easy to collect the leaves and stage them out by the road last night. The White Chicken Chili that Lori made was the perfect evening meal. This has actually been a big chili weekend. Friday night’s social gathering involved a chili potluck. I saw fit to enjoy Skyline Chili for lunch, while the Buckeyes handled their business against Penn State. And then Lori’s chili last night…I’m here for it. As with every season, we need to distance ourselves from certain dishes in order to enjoy them anew.
I have come to understand that this fatigue/renewal cycle extends beyond just the sense memory of taste. Sometimes we forget knowledge, facts, important things, and we need to re-learn them. This happens both individually and collectively at the level of community/society.
When a community “forgets,” some members of the community actually still remember - but not enough remember for it to remain as “common knowledge” at the community level. I’m not sure what the percentage is, but once we lose it, the common knowledge for that subject becomes debatable, rather than broadly accepted as true.
Here are some things that are no longer common knowledge, at least at the level that they once were:
We have forgotten what our civic duties are.
We have forgotten that we can only spend beyond our income for so long before going insolvent.
We have forgotten that we can only experience community-wide benefits from vaccines when most of us take them.
We no longer recall just how horrible World War II and fascism were.
We have forgotten how wrong the ideas underpinning white supremacy are.
We have forgotten what it feels like to be hungry.
We have forgotten that might doesn’t automatically make right.
We have forgotten that lying is bad, and counterproductive.
We have forgotten how inconvenient and uncomfortable it is to live under autocratic control.
We have forgotten what it means to be a good ally.
We have forgotten that tariffs function as taxes on consumers.
We have forgotten that we need experts, because we can’t know everything ourselves.
We have collectively forgotten many things. In this collective forgetting, there are still those who retain the knowledge - and they are trying to remind us of what we once knew.
Truth isn’t going anywhere, though. Truth is undefeated.
This phenomenon of collectively forgetting important lessons is best explained perhaps by the author G. Michael Hopf in this quote “Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.” We’ve had quite a run of good times, but difficulties are returning.
As the leaves and air temperatures drop, I am preparing for an especially cold winter. I have some sadness around the fact that we are retracing some of these fundamental steps. Humans are inefficient, yet we do make undeniable progress.
We are known for helping each other, for working together. This is how we transcended all the other species on this planet. As we transition to harder times, let’s work together.
Sunday Supper
This Texas-Style Chili was my contribution to Friday’s potluck. This Baked Kale Rice w/ Halloumi looks very satisfying. This Chicken au Poivre sounds delightful, and pairs well with this White Bean Salad w/ Fennel & Celery.
Sunday Music
Here Mumford & Sons cover Nine Inch Nails’ song, Hurt. Here is Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers performing Learning To Fly at Bonnaroo 12 years ago. Lastly, here is GoGo Penguin, Live in Manchester. Enjoy!
If you know anyone who might like this essay, please share it with them.
Have a great week ahead! You can do anything you set your mind to. Let me know how I can help.
Peace & Love,