You know, I’ve long liked this quote that I initially heard in Amelie:
But recently, for some reason, I realized it’s only half true – like it’s missing something. You’re a fool for looking at the finger which points at the sky – if the sky is on fire, raining knives, or blanketed with an Independence Day sized saucer of creatures who mean to eat us up and shit us out. When the problem being pointed out inarguably signifies our imminent demise, then yeah: the finger’s immaterial. For now.
However, I could see how some might get confused about this. Because you always hafta question your source before making an important decision about what they’re pointing out – and with a homicide-interrogation level set of questions. What if the sky’s a distraction from quicksand you’re about to step in? Or a fifty foot drop you’re coming up on? Who’s doing the pointing? Why? What’s in it for them if I look at the sky – or act on what I see? What are their personal interests? Do they align with mine – or run counter to them? Do they have anything to gain from me looking at where they point that would be detrimental to me?
Stories you’ll see on the news are great example of this. Especially when the various stations tend to tell them in a different way from one another. And then one of your friends will say “This channel’s the truth! Because it shares my political beliefs!” And another will hop on the thread and say to them, “Did your mother become addicted to crack and qualudes the moment you were conceived up until you departed her vaginal gash?” And then they’ll argue for a bit. And you’ll either be sad or sat with popcorn in hand, eagerly watching the shit-show, and just happy that it’s happening on your wall because it somehow makes you feel relevant and less insignificant. And all the while, you still dunno which channel’s story is the actual truth.
Or why the news is covering the annual dog show in such a controversial manner.
And that – why (whether it’s bulldogs or bombings) they’re sharing the stories they share (along with when, where, how they do it) is indeed relevant. It’s all worth ruminating over before accepting what you hear as fact. The only fact we can count on is that we don’t really know. We weren’t there to see the story happen with our own eyes. Does that mean shut off all news and live under a rock? Quite the contrary. Look at the entire spectrum of information – including real life people and web info – before making a decision. Take this telephone game of information with a grain of salt, asking questions all the while.
‘cause the wise analyze the pointing finger and the sky – in its entirety.