What Would You Have Done?

I took a class with Kent Dobson in January at Mars Hill. It was about dualistic thinking. I know, just want every girl wants to get into! Luckily, I'm not Every Girl!

According to Kent you can't really know if you would have come in on the side of right at various times in history. His example was the civil rights movement of the 60s. You don't really know if you would have been on the side of equal rights for all. You might have picked the side of the status quo.

Mostly, I think Kent is right; you can't know. On the other hand, I think there are some things that you can look at in your life right now that might give you a hint.

Going back to the example of the Civil Rights Movement, I think you can take an educated guess as to how you would have chosen then by how important not rocking the boat is to you right now. Is it important to you to do socially correct things that socially correct people do? Do you have an image that depends on only associating with the right people?

When I was younger I went through a Holocaust obsession phase. I always imagined that I would be the sort of person who would hide Jews. My parent raised me to see the Jews as God's Chosen People and to do what is right regardless of what is going on around you. Yet despite that, I think I would have been a "bad" German. I'm very afraid of getting in trouble with those in authority. I really don't like to do what is illegal. I think I used up all my "bucking the system" strength in my early days.

I have a little hope that I might have chose the side of good because I also hate to do what is immoral, but would the difference have been as clear to me then as it is now?

In most ways is doesn't matter what you would have done if you lived in the past because you can never find out, but I believe spending time imagining it can give you some insight into a better way to live now. There is still plenty of injustice to fight and plenty of good sides to choose. Oftentimes it's just a matter of risking one's own discomfort, and the choosing or not choosing to that is awfully revealing.