A Good Blog
Bustard in the first chapter focused on the concept of good and what good looks like and means in our everyday lives. Something that the reading brought up in me was the study I did of Immanuel Kant a few months ago. He was a philosopher and an author and he is probably most famous for his book The Metaphysics of Morals. He wrote many things to do with the general population and their roles in their communities. To paraphrase, he advocated the sense of duty, and that the more a person follows their duties, the good- the better.. (the gooder?) they are regarding morals and contribution to society. Yep, nailed that tie in.
Duty, as Kant describes, is something we all have that guides moral behavior. A mother’s duty would be to her children, a students duty would be to their education, an audience member’s duty requires them to listen respectfully to a speaker. When someone fulfills their duty, he calls it a good deed. He calls it beautiful when anyone follows what they are called to do and works at it and accomplishes it.
As an artist, I know that one of my duties is to provide the narratives that I produce in my art and to serve that art. I have a duty to serve my community with the skills that I have, and I am sure many other artists if not all would say the same thing. In It Was Good, Bustard says “Goodness needs to be attached to the real world because if you separate it from reality what you are left with is Disney World.” (Pg. 24). Art needs the truth in order to be considered good; The harsh truths of reality, the beautiful truths of love and knowledge, and understanding are all necessary. Artists from all corners of the world have this duty as well: to create with the truth of all they have experienced. When you combine an artists foundational duty to create, with understanding and an honest representation of the truth, I think you find a richer, fuller goodness.
Pulling back from just the population of artists in the world, people in general are called to experience life. Just the other day in fact I was talking to a friend of mine, and he brought up that that day was the anniversary he attempted suicide. Not to bring down the mood of the blog or anything, and actually the way he brought it up felt natural and not shameful or taboo. He recalled the fun time he had when he went to the hospital afterwards and we laughed about him getting yelled at by a nurse in the bathroom. All she wanted was a urine sample is that too much to ask for?? But what stayed with me from that interaction was his recollection of what he felt later after the attempt. He felt like he had a fuller interpretation of the human experience, the truth of what reality is like. His truth was an honest experience, something that showed him more of the world. This concept reminds me of those infinity puzzles that are pretty crazy. Experiencing more of the world is like finding a piece that fits into a part of the puzzle.
Having experience to me is one side of a spectrum of goodness. The other side of this spectrum would be ignorance. If going out and experiencing the world allows people (artists) to tell a truth, which often ends up revealing a truth to others, then keeping away from the world and preventing any honesty or truth leads to a bent understanding of reality. This phenomenon reminds me of Megan Phelps-Roper and her upbringing preventing her from experiencing the truth. But like Bustard explained, bent is just another way of saying “I need fixing” and Megan Phelps-Roper was able to go and figure out the honest truth of reality even after so much was kept away from her. She thought she understood what she was called to do by her family and her upbringing. But the subconscious dutiful pull led her to the truth: that her duty was not what she thought it was, and that the human experience is full and can’t be seen through such a limiting lens. I get the imagery of a pinhole camera; something that totally limits your point of view, prevents context, and doesn’t give you the whole story.
To take it back now y’all, I can see Kant’s idea of duty play out in people when they are in these kinds of situations. Both in my friend in his time of need, and Megan in her decisive moment, there was a deep rooted sense of good, also known as the right thing to do. They understood that they were bent, and they knew that there was something they could do about it, whether that be leave the security of a family and tight knit community, or call an ambulance on yourself and get the help you need.
I think what I am trying to say is that feeling things isn’t a bad thing. People recently have been struggling and hurting, and that is valid. What is also valid is that everything you experience leads to a broader understanding of the world and its truths. This is our form of goodness, our duty to experience the life God has given us, and to feel and live, and to have an honest understanding of reality.
The Metaphysics of Morals: Immanuel Kant — Introduction:
https://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/ethics/kant/morals/ch03.htm
