| | Teachers are not saints. Nor are soldiers sages. Exposure is not the same as understanding. Nor is it the same as acceptance.
Soldiers don't come to accept death so much as they are forced to live with it. They do what they must to make it tolerable. They make jokes about death, graveyard humor. There aren't above their fears, and they can't hide from them, but the can find the will to laugh at them.
Teachers aren't saints. They don't always expect the most of their students. They don't always accept them for who they are. They don't always see them without prejudice. Instead, they make light of their foibles. They joke about a students ignorance. They make kid about fearing violence from a student.
Quite often, there is ironic tone behind all of this. Irony and honesty. Making light and joking makes it so we don't have to factor things into the big meaning of it all. We can't go on, day in and day out, if we are constantly asking ourselves "Why am I doing this, again?" We can't afford to lose our sense of purpose.
Teachers can't let their fears and prejudices stop them from trying their hardest to educate. Soldiers can't let their fears of death stop them from fighting. If we stop, them are fears will be upon us. To deflect, we make jokes.
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| | Posted 8/27/2007 11:49 AM - 21 Views - 0 eProps - 0 comments
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