A Note About Memes, Platitudes, and Superficial Sentiment

Yard signs are cropping up in neighborhoods around the country.

They look something like the following, though the sentiments may be in a different order depending on where one lives and who produced the sign.

In this house we believe…             No human is illegal Love is Love             Science is real Women’s rights are Human rights             Black lives matter Water is Life             And kindness is everything.

Now, I’m sure that those who have placed the signs in their yards have only the best of intentions, but, I really don’t think they have thought much about what the sign says.  And, it is that lack of thought, and the reliance on platitudes to make some sort of point, that I find most offensive.

So here are a few comments to those who have placed these signs in their yards.

“No human is illegal.”  I’m not sure I understand exactly what that statement means – do you?  But, if it means something like all humans are basically good, then I think I agree.  But, humans do commit illegal acts.  There are laws and if we do not obey them, then we have anarchy.  If we do not like them, in a democracy there are legal means for changing them.  If, in your house there are no illegal humans, then are you saying that it is OK with you that we have rapists and murderers on the streets, maybe even in your home?  And, OK, I really get that you are talking about illegal aliens.  The humans themselves are not illegal, but as illegal aliens they have committed illegal acts, and, like a murderer or rapist they must be willing to suffer the consequences of breaking the law, including deportation.

Love is love.  And an apple is an apple.  But there are good apples and there are rotten apples.  And, similarly, there is love whose expression is good, and love whose expression is not.  Love is a word that has many different definitions and connotations.  Which do you mean here?

Science is real.  Yes.  In many ways scientific principles govern our lives.  But sometimes scientific claims are made that are not fully supported by scientific evidence; those claims need to be questioned and the proponent pushed to find and produce more substantial support before asserting that the claim is real.

When you say that “women’s rights are human rights,” to what rights do you refer as being “women’s rights”?  Women are a subset of humanity, so I guess if there are human rights then of course they encompass women.  But precisely how and what are you defining as human or women’s rights?  There are many definitions of and sources for these rights and they vary from culture to culture and religion to religion.  For all I know you are referring to the rights of men in some countries to beat their wives as a human right, since it is considered as such in that country and that, under your statement, is then also a women’s right (to be beaten).

Black lives matter.  Yes, and so do brown lives and red lives and white lives.  I believe that the lives of all humanity (and other animals too) matter.  To pick only one group to assert that their lives matter is one of the worst forms of identity politics and segregates that group of people from the rest of humanity.  And, what do you mean by matter?  Does that mattering come with some sort of special rights?  Do you not believe in equal rights for all?

Water is life.  Yes, we need water to live.  What is your point?

“And kindness is everything.”  Really?   And how do you define kindness?  If a mother yells at her child she is not being kind in the moment, yet she may have just prevented her child from running into traffic and being hit by a car.

My problem with your sign, as with any meme of this type, is its superficiality and its demonstration of a lack of deep thought.  It may envision a Utopian world inhabited by perfect individuals, but that is not this world and humanity does not consist of those individuals.  So, assume the best about your fellow humans, but understand that they will at times disappoint you.  Demand that we have fair laws and that when they are broken that those who have committed the illegal act face fair consequences for their illegal acts.  Demand facts and evidence for not just scientific propositions but for all assertions – that is, do not just accept what you are told at face value or because it sounds good, or because you like the source of the comment.  Look beyond the short term.  Think critically and try to see the big picture and the long-term consequences of everything that you do and that you advocate.  Thinking and understanding is far more likely to create the better world that you seek than even the best sign full of platitudes.