Shadows on the Cave Wall: Making Wisdom Great Again
I studied Philosophy before and during college, because I have long been fascinated by the big questions, curious about the nature of reality and the meaning of life.
My favorite piece of philosophical writing has to be “The Allegory of the Cave.” In these days of intense politic-related division, I keep coming back to this timeless allegory in my mind.
In Plato’s “Republic,” Socrates tells the story of a group of people who dwell in the darkness of an underground cave. They spend their days unknowingly chained in place, gazing at shadows cast on a wall in front of them by puppeteers who are performing a puppet show in front of a fire behind them. The captive audience is not aware of the puppeteers and fire behind them. In fact, they don’t even realize they are chained up. They gaze at the stories unfolding before their eyes, talking about these things, perhaps arguing about these things as well, and this is their entire reality.
Later, the philosopher king unlocks the prisoners from their chains, telling them of sunlight and the world above, and leads them out. However, it is the “trapped in the cave” aspect of the story that has drawn me in right now.
These days, the “powers that be” clearly wants us to feel we are on TWO SIDES and the other is the absolute worst. A lot of citizens’ daily discussion is arguments over, not just whether what is happening is right, but over what is actually happening.
We are watching this drama unfold quite like we are watching shadows on a wall. One person sees a puppet’s gesture and interprets it as a symbol of racist hatred, and another says, “No, he’s just got Aspergers, that’s not what he meant at all.” One person sees executive orders being made and interprets or experiences these actions to be the beginning of the end, while another sees it as the beginning of a golden age.
Has reality ever been weirder?
I have to ask myself, if these are plays of shadow we are all watching, and we are all, to some extent imprisoned, is it worth me getting wrapped up in, fired up by, and probably getting into an argument with my husband about these things we are watching that we are interpreting so very differently?
When I look at my dear husband like he has three heads after he says the latest Trump soundbite was taken out of context or he looks at me like I’m a victim of mainstream media who cannot think for herself, I have to continue to ask myself, what would the wise person do?
What would Socrates, for example, do? This man was well acquainted with the perversities of government and the corruption of the powerful. In fact, he was executed by his government for asking too many questions.
Then there is the Taoist Sage character, who seems to do nothing except reflect on the One and effortlessly project that awareness outward, and in so doing, affects profound change gently.
Or WWJD? We can talk about Jesus, a figure around which there are probably more interpretations and disagreements regarding who he was and what he stood for than even a Donald Trump or an Elon Musk. From what is recorded, Jesus seems to have preached both peace and division. He went to his violent murder humbly, but was also revolutionary enough to be seen as a threat to the Roman government.
Don’t ask too many questions. Don’t challenge the status quo. And don’t you dare think outside the box we give you.
The story is not new.
However long this lasts, I will remind myself that probably very few people on this earth know what is truly going on. We see shadows on a cave wall. We see what they want us to see. Both “sides” are a manufactured ploy.
What they show us will likely intensify whatever is already there. A hateful person may become more hateful. A person drawn to love may become more loving. A person addicted to chaos may become more chaotic.
What would the wise person do? What does my inner wise person do?
Given my position in life, out of the three characters mentioned above, I’m probably going to be most like the Taoist sage who quietly projects consciousness, knowing that the nature of things is change and the opposite will always seek its balancing force.
When it comes down to it, I don’t trust either side of the narrative enough to bank on any of it. I do know what I stand for- love, consciousness, peace, inner freedom, creativity, and ever-expanding growth. And I suppose that cannot be contained in a politic, religion, or any kind of box, really.
I will hold on to the good feelings and will give the bad the processing time they need to go on their way. I will not get into arguments over things I cannot change and have no direct control over. I will not be drawn into the drama of the shadows on the cave wall.
