Unreasonable

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Is the world run by sex-addicts, adulterers, and pedophiles? As time passes, it really does feel like it.

**Cue song “I Need a Hero”**

Even our most revered historical figures have some insane histories. The MLK Jr. files revealed what was often rumored about the minister and civil rights activist. It wasn’t surprising, but it was disappointing. Reading the files is enough to just make one look away with the thought, “Is anyone admirable?”

I will leave some of the most controversial pages below if you want to read for yourself.

Truth is we are all far from perfect. Not all of us are a minister participating in orgies and having a love child, but you know what I mean.

When you look at the men and women in scripture, you also find a flawed bunch. Part of being human, I guess, is truly realizing the heroes among us are not always what they seem. And yet, despite their flaws, they managed to create incredible change. May we all be so privileged to leave a mark.

Another piece is having the maturity to have restrained or narrow admiration and saving the true hero status for the God who somehow takes our tattered selves and works through us.

There is a lot we can learn from the flawed heroes. With some, it’s how not to be and the hypocrisy entrenched in their stories. With others, we learn how to deal with grief, obstacles, pain and doubt. Whatever the case, transparency and truth matter. It is damaging to make people seem better than they were. It’s better to deal with truth than some romanticized and sanitized version of someone or history. In a society that wants to cancel anyone flawed— it’s time we have a more transparent era. One that forces us to deal with reality and real life. Not some distorted fantasy. If you set out to cancel people, there will be no one left.

I am currently reading a book about Theodore Roosevelt, and how every time he dealt with loss, he went out on the most insane adventures. He almost ended up dead on some of these trips. When his heart was broken, he went out there and put himself in danger. The man was wild. And not always in a healthy way.

The people who change the world have one thing in common— they are unreasonable.

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” George Bernard Shaw

And the truth remains, that the unreasonable man can be disappointing. He can be deeply flawed. He is far from perfect. But still, it is the unreasonable one who is remembered. This is a valuable lesson to take.

We are each responsible for living a life that is admirable; one that leaves the world better than we found it. One that hopefully has a shred of integrity to it and a lot of unreasonableness.