by
AARON CALEB
Director and MFA Candidate,
Department of
Theatre, Film and Creative
Writing
Do not answer a fool
according to his folly,
or you
will be like him yourself.
(Proverbs 26:4)
John
Lazarus was originally
commissioned
in the early 1980s
to
write a play for young
audiences. The result
was Village of Idiots,
a dramatic retelling
of Jewish droll stories
set in the folkloric
town of Chelm that
would continue to tickle
the fancies of many
school groups for years
to come. While the
play’s original
intent
may have been to speak
to children I feel,
however, that it has
more to say to adults.
“For
my thoughts are not
your thoughts, neither
are
your ways my ways,” declares
the Lord.
(Isaiah 55:8)
It has been said
that, as children,
we are
guileless. We say
what
we think and make no
effort to hide our
feelings. We have lots
of
love and we’re
eager to share it.
As we grow up, however,
we
learn that childlike
innocence is pitiable.
When we achieve adulthood
we discover that it’s
time to be serious:
to know things, be
smart, and have common
sense. In fact, it
seems that we uphold
knowledge as the true
indicator of power
and social success.
It is
our grasp of current
affairs and our ability
to sit amongst friends,
sipping cappuccinos
and engaging in “eloquent
griping” that
makes us superior to
others. And yet, despite
all our knowledge,
we seem to be doing
very foolish things.
We give tax breaks
to
big business and let
our children go hungry.
We crash planes into
buildings and retaliate
by blowing up more
buildings somewhere
else. We attack the
public education system
for our children’s
misdemeanours and do
nothing on the home
front to address the
issue. We spend billions
of dollars on building
nuclear arsenals,
then billions more
on disarmament. We
passively point out
problems
instead of actively
being part of solutions.
Oh, yes. We are very
smart.
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People
say that knowledge is
the key to preventing
social injustices like
theft. However, it seems
to me that if you send
a blue-collar crook to
college, all you end
up with is more white-collar
crimes. What does this
mean? Could our problem
be that we have smart
heads but dumb hearts?
Albert Einstein said
that the definition of
insanity is doing the
same thing over and over
again but expecting different
results. If we cherish
intelligence so much,
how is it that we have
not assimilated this
simple truth?
Perhaps
we’ve got it wrong.
Perhaps, instead of learning,
we need to “unlearn.” Perhaps
we need to become more
like children: to be
unafraid to get things
wrong, to make mistakes.
Maybe we need more innocence
and less experience.
The Chelmniks are a great
example of living life
according to this belief.
They come to silly conclusions
when they try to reason;
they do things that defy
simple common sense;
and they get things wrong
all the time. However,
they also get a lot of
things right – important
things like caring for
each other, putting others
before themselves, welcoming
strangers to their community,
helping the downtrodden,
and having “ a
little trust” and “a
little faith.”
Earlier
this year, I had the
fortunate opportunity
to speak with John
Lazarus about Idiots.
I asked
him a number of questions,
and he gave me many
helpful suggestions and
insights.
But the thing that
I remember most from
our
time together is his
answer to my question: “What
does this play mean to
you?”
He replied, “If
what the world does is
considered sane, then
I’d much rather
be considered a fool.” That
may seem like “non-sense;” but
I hope I have the courage
to be idiotic enough
to get at least a few
important things right.
How about you?
There
is a way that seems right
to a man, but in the
end it leads to death.
(Proverbs 14:12) |
