fumbling

I Netflixed a good movie recently- Joyeux Noel, or Merry Christmas in the English-subtitled version. Which is not to say other films I've seen aren't worth noting, of course, just ruminating on this one....

The film, which, though dramatic and sad, was also thoughtful, and was a selection at Cannes. It's about the common experiences of those fighting against eachother in WWI, and it was one of those examples of an instance when I am reminded of how we are all limited in our understanding of humanity by our individual experiences. Sounds esoteric, yeah, but time and distance prevent us from grasping the meaning of being a human during World War One, or in struggling Bangladesh, or during the middle ages. Our identities and experiences are all significantly defined by when and where we happen to begin our lives. There are billions of us here on earth now, all alive for the first time and learning how to be human and interact with eachother, and no matter what the human race experiences over its history, we will never inherit any type of inherent understanding of the "human condition." We are all, as people, going through life for the first time, and no matter how much reading, learning, and thinking we do, we are still limited to our own personal experience of humanity and the world. Perhaps that explains why we're not rid of racism, or war, or other crimes people commit against eachother.

An uplifting holiday message, I know: just something I'm chewing on.