A sermon in two parts.

I mentioned in a previous sermon (Made Up, October 10, 2019) that I speak Esperanto. In consequence, as you might imagine, I frequently get posts (in Esperanto) on Facebook about this, that, and the other. The other day, I received a cute little cartoon of a number of smiling people holding up signs that said (translated) “If many small people in many small places do many small things it will change the world.” Not world-shaking philosophy (except that perhaps it is,) but pretty inoffensive, at least. But this was on Facebook, don’t forget, the natural habitat of the Opinionated Dick, or Lesser Internet Troll. So, of course, there was the following comment:

“A stupid language. The world has enough languages and doesn’t need one more.”   

I’ll come back to whether there is any truth in these statements later, but first I want to comment on the post itself. Clearly, the poster doesn’t think much of Esperanto. Alright, that’s his right, no one is trying to force it down his throat. But so what? What’s it to him? Why does he have to say anything at all, let alone something negative? 

Obviously, I can understand someone being in favor of Esperanto. I could write a very long sermon indeed on why I think it’s a good idea, but I won’t. (At least, not yet.) But for the life of me, I can’t understand someone being against a neutral language to facilitate and improve trans-border and trans-language communication. How can one person (French) talking to another person (Indonesian) neither of whom the poster knows, affect him in any way at all? Why should he possibly care? What’s it to him?

Look, I like pie, you don’t, I get it. But the fact that I like pie is no skin off your nose. It doesn’t stop you eating cake, and it doesn’t mean you have to pretend to like pie! I’ll tell you what, “Mi neniam donas al vi pastaĵon.” (I won’t ever give you pie in Esperanto.) Because what I do, as long as it has no negative effect on you, is none of your business. And I promise never to say that cake is icky. 

But the fact remains that for some reason there seems to be a feeling in our society that we have to have an opinion about everything. Even things that don’t affect us in any way. Like Esperanto. And, what’s more, we have to get that opinion out there.

I mean, when was the last time an esperantist caused you difficulties?  In fact, do you even know any beside me? And if you find my sermons annoying, it’s not because I’m an Esperanto-speaker, I’m pretty sure. Nevertheless, the poster had to have his little rant.

Which I will now deal with. 

One, no language is stupid. The speakers may be, but languages are neutral. 

Two, frankly, the world doesn’t have enough languages. There are any number of beautiful, expressive, culturally rich languages that have died, or are on the point of disappearing. Our world is the poorer with every language that disappears. Saying we have enough languages is like saying we have enough water. We do, if you can get it, and it’s safe, and it’s not polluted. We do have enough water. But many, many people don’t have access to it. In the U.S. alone there are many indigenous languages on the point of extinction that the native peoples can’t use in their schools or in public discourse, because our laws don’t recognize them. The water’s there, they just can’t drink it.

Which now brings me to the second part of my sermon. 

About two hours after reading the post in Esperanto, I took my dog for a walk. In amongst the trees and flowering bushes which run along the sidewalk by the apartment, someone had tossed a drinks can. Now I have already written a sermon about dumping garbage, (Rights and Duties, July 21, 2017) so I won’t go into all of that. Suffice it to say that I found the fact that there was garbage in the shrubbery annoying and the attitude of someone who thought they’d just dump it by the sidewalk disappointing at the very least. But I found myself thinking, “What’s it to ya? Why do you care? Why have an emotional response?” 

Isn’t this just like the Esperanto comment?

Actually, it isn’t.

I care because, unlike a post in Esperanto, it does affect me. In fact, it affects everyone who lives in the apartment building. It affects everyone who walks down the street. It turns the neighborhood into a garbage dump. Or, if people keep throwing their cans out onto the street it turns the whole city into a garbage dump, little by little, bit by bit. Because if many small people, in many small places, throw out many small pieces of trash it will turn the whole world into a pile of crap.

We all have the right to our language. We all have the right to our opinions. We all have the right to our politics, our religion, our gender, our bodies. We all have the right to drink Red Bull. We all have the right to all these things. Right up to the point where it affects someone else. 

We don’t have the right to throw away our can onto someone else’s property. We don’t have the right to force our language onto someone else. We don’t have the right to attack someone because they look different, speak a different language, belong to a different faith, or like a different dessert.

You do you. Right up to the point where it prevents me doing me. And there, my little litterbug, is where we, as a society, as a country, have to draw the line.