MICHAEL BRASWELL
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"Where values and ethics are concerned,
we try to teach our students what we
​most need to remember."



Deception and Discernment

8/28/2024

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Bumper stickers and billboards proclaim clever values that hide behind altered truth reflecting tribal rituals and propaganda.
Deception leads us to believe we can buy virtue on the cheap.
Like fake watches and sunglasses, we learn soon enough all that glitters isn’t gold.
Discernment, the ability to think for oneself, to carefully consider different points of view, to be
able to tell the difference between what is true and what is false.
The greatest challenge is the deception we find looking back at us in our bathroom mirrors. 
The biggest lies we tell to ourselves.
 
From within and without, deception begins its dance of seduction with a smidgen of truth. The wisp of authenticity hovers about as the lie grows into envy, prejudice, greed or some other malignancy.
Children tell the truth until we teach them to hide their feelings.
Where simply being a child is no longer valued.
It does not take long for them to worry more about what others think than what they think of themselves.
Performance not play becomes the order of the day.
Natalia Ginzburg believed we should be more discerning, emphasizing a different approach with our children and ourselves, one that focuses on the “little virtues.”
Courage as opposed to caution.
Frankness and a love of the truth as opposed to shrewdness, cleverness and accommodation.
Loving our neighbors and denying ourselves more than being tactful.
“To be” and “to know” more than being obsessed with success.
Sacrifices made for doing good often have no external reward.
 Corrupt and evil deeds may go unpunished and even rewarded with fame and fortune.
Still, we must love good and resist evil.
It is not unusual to be misunderstood and even suffer injustice for trying to do good.
It only matters that we do not commit injustice ourselves.
 
We would agree that Natalia Ginzburg’s “little virtues” are values to live by.
That is what we would say. But what do we do?
 
Contradictions abound: the values we cherish on Sundays and other holy days as opposed to the way we live and work the other six days of the week.
We are taught that we should share with those in need, but Monday through Friday, “God helps those who help themselves.”
On Sunday we love our neighbor. On Monday, it’s every man and woman for him or herself.
How do we temper our competitive spirit with a spirit of cooperation and generosity?
Competition and cooperation, individualism and community concern, self-interest and compassion for others.
Competition with myself, not with others.
When I have done my best-- all I can, that is all I can do.
Seeing myself in others, seeing them in me.
 
Endless desire barks at our heels breeding insecurity and mindless ambition.
Self-deception rewards our critical eye with a sense of entitlement, even victimhood.
Is life more than an infomercial offering junk food for the soul and a sweet tooth for envy?
Self-discernment leans not only into our own understanding and insight, but listens for the still, small voice that leads us toward timeless truths that bring balance and contentment.
Not the illusion of perfection, but a reconciling wholeness that can be felt and experienced more than explained.
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  • THE SAME, BUT DIFFERENT
  • ABOUT
  • PUBLICATIONS
    • RECOMMENDED BOOKS AND FILMS
    • WORKS IN PROGRESS
    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
  • CONTACT