WHAT WOULD YODA DO?
Stephen L. Carter was inspired by psychologist Jordan Peterson’s popular book 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos. So Carter decided to create his own set of rules, drawn from science fiction.
“An atom-blaster is a good weapon, but it can point both ways.” (Isaac Asimov, Foundation)
It matters not only whether one accomplishes an end but also how. Any tool available to the “good guys” today might be wielded tomorrow by the “bad guys.”
“Happiness consists in getting enough sleep. Just that, nothing more.” (Robert Heinlein, Starship Troopers)
OK, happiness is more than this — the point is that taking physical, emotional and spiritual care of yourself is crucial to being happy.
“To learn which questions are unanswerable, and not to answer them: This skill is most needful in times of stress and darkness.” (Ursula K. Le Guin, The Left Hand of Darkness)
To avoid unease, we have to learn to live with a degree of ambiguity.
“Repressive societies always seemed to understand the danger of ‘wrong’ ideas.” (Octavia Butler, Kindred)
Butler, of course, means this the other way around: that a society’s taste for getting rid of “wrong ” ideas is a mark of its repressive nature. Whether the “wrong ” ideas that must not be expressed are ideas we love or ideas we hate, the same mischief is afoot.
“Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens.” (J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring) Spoken by the dwarf Gimli as the Fellowship is preparing to depart to return the Ring. To see the context, consider Elrond’s response: “But let him not vow to walk in the dark, who has not seen the nightfall.” Elrond’s point is it’s OK to back out — but back out now, before taking on the responsibility. Once the vow is made and the task undertaken, Gimli is right: One mustn’t give up because the going gets hard.
“Don’t provoke the Borg!”
(Q to his son in Star Trek: Voyager)
Everything we know about the Star Trek universe tells us that although the Borg are nearly impregnable, the Q are more powerful still. But the fact that your side would likely prevail in the case of conflict isn’t reason enough to go looking for trouble. “Some things you teach yourself to remember to forget.” (William Gibson, Count Zero) I don’t mean by this what Jammer (the club owner who speaks the words in the novel) means in context. What I have in mind is letting bygones be bygones, so we can look forward.
“We do not pretend to have achieved perfection, but we do have a system, and it works.” (The Day the Earth Stood Still) The character of Klaatu is explaining how the other planets will henceforth prevent “this Earth of yours” from extending its violence into outer space. What’s striking is Klaatu’s willingness to settle for a practical modus vivendi, rather than insisting on achieving some ideal of justice. We too often forget how compromise, with its implicit humility, is crucial to democracy.
“Guerrillas have something to hope for.” (James Tiptree Jr./Alice Bradley Sheldon, The Women Men Don’t See) Tiptree’s heroine, Ruth Parsons, is replying to the male narrator, who after Parsons says “What women do is survive” has told her that she makes it sound as if being female is “a guerrilla operation.” As we seek change, we ought to be guerrillas — working behind the scenes, rather than thinking that change only matters if we do it all at once and make headlines.
“Whether a thought is spoken or not it is a real thing and it has power.” (Frank Herbert, Dune)
If thoughts matter, then thinking matters — which means training people to think matters.
“The books are to remind us what asses and fools we are. They’re Caesar’s praetorian guard, whispering as the parade roars down the avenue, ‘Remember, Caesar, thou art mortal.’”
(Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451)
As Bradbury notes, a crucial reason to read is that we can be surprised, upset, offended, turned in a different direction. We don’t live in a thoughtful age — reading books that challenge has become more important than ever. When we read seriously, we run the risk that we might change our minds. Conformity is another word for intellectual cowardice.
“Beware of the Dark Side. Anger, fear, aggression: The Dark Side of the Force are they. Easily they flow, quick to join you in a fight. If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.” (Yoda, The Empire Strikes Back)
In the roiling complexity of our inner selves, it matters enormously which emotions wind up on top. One road leads to inner and outer peace. The other ... doesn’t.