I’m decent. In writing this, I’m making what I consider a simple statement. In reading it, an imaginably, mildly jaded person from the 21st Century might consider this an admission of averageness. If that’s the case, I’m fine with the interpretation. Admittedly, I’m not a super hero. I don’t even consider myself collectively super or even super at even one thing in particular. Then again, perhaps that’s part of what makes me decent. If an ember of confusion is starting to smoke, don’t feel badly. At the beginning and end of each day, as well as throughout said day, I’m not only decent but also simple, and it’s that combination that makes living in a increasingly complex and indecent world that much harder.
Assuming a pulse, we’ve picked up on the “decency” double-entendre. If so, we’re halfway to where we need to mentally be. To arrive at decency, though, we must embark simply. I’ll start. I was simply born, in a simple hospital in a simple city. I grew up simply, in a simple town, nurtured by simple people who shared all their simple beliefs and attitudes. I didn’t physically or emotionally lack anything, but I also didn’t have a lot of anything. As a result, I grew from a simple child to a simple adult.
Please don’t mistake my admitted simplicity as a misheld belief that I’m the Siddartha of my time. Be it a nice house, well-paying job, or a close parking spot on a rainy day, I like nice things. Moreover, I appreciate these and many other nice things when presented. There is nothing wrong with any human being doing so. That said, there exists an invisible line from which we must try to distance ourselves. We must recognize the emotional and physical comfort that nice things can bring, without crossing the line to the point where we need nice things to be physically or emotionally comfortable.
The existence of or watchfulness of the line isn’t situationally dependent. To remain decent, one has to, as they say in war, “hold the line”. How do I (and we) do that? We try to do the right things. We treat everyone with dignity and respect. We seek to do things that bring positive value to our life, but we don’t do those things when it may negatively affect someone else’s life. Keeping things simple makes sustaining decency easier. In turn, life collectively becomes less complicated. If enough of us do it, humankind can begin to regain their collective decency. It really is that simple.