Apricot Jam

Daily Meditation #248–10/28/2022

“Blueberry jam is the best,” they said with a playful tone.

His friend stared back, a look of incredulity creeping over his face.

“How can you possibly say this? How can you believe such nonsense?” the friend retorts, his voice clearly crumbly around the edges as he tries to hold back greater emotions.

A long pause emotes from Blueberry-Jam-Enthusiast.
“Well…ur…The subtle tartness and the fact there’s not much, uh, ‘pulp’ like in apricot. Or — blegh … seeds … like strawberry. Only someone completely unhinged and uninformed would possibly enjoy strawberry.”

The listening friend finally had heard enough.

“I love strawberry! What do you mean, ‘unhinged and uninformed?!’”

“I mean, only someone like Hitler would possibly believe strawberry jam is the way to go! I personally believe we should have all the strawberry jam rounded up and thrown in the dump! Anyone eating any other flavor of jam except blueberry should be locked up!”

Moments later, the police had to be called as these two were screaming into one another's’ faces, nearing exchanging blows.

— — —

If you read a story such as this — blueberry or strawberry jam “maximalism” — where two men insisted that one flavor of jam was the only way to go for everyone, what would you do?

Laugh, I’d imagine.

And yet, and yet…

We see this very conversation unfold every day.
Between family members.
Friends.
People online.

“My politics are correct and are the only correct ones for everyone!” is the general theme.

Without a second thought, we know one person insisting on “One Flavor to Rule them All” is absurd due to the different tastes, histories, and needs of others all around us.
Some grew up poor, others rich.
Some are gay, others straight.
Some people are black, some white.
Some of us have been robbed, others beaten or raped.

So, why are we so unbearably insistent that a single, specific way of thought is the only way of thought for everyone and that anyone of different opinion is “the enemy?”

Whether it’s politics or flavors of jam, we are all different and all individuals who are free to hold whichever views we wish. There is no one, single way to do everything for everyone. Period.

I will leave you with that thought.
My favorite jam is apricot, by the way.

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These are distillations from my coming book “YouDaimonia: the Ancient Philosophy of Human Flourishing.”