The Ideal Form

The Ideal Form

John Paul Derryberry

I remember sitting outside in the second week of classes during our intro to philosophy class. I'm vaguely paying attention because of the beautiful day, class being outside, and giant bubbles floating around. Ken Jones, who ended up being my favorite professor ever, is spouting off about the theory of forms. This theory is basically the idea that the perfect version of anything only exists in idea form. However, it loses its ideal form once we begin interacting with it with our senses. And if that doesn't sum up our chase for the perfect version of ourselves, I don't know how to let people know that the ideal version of ourselves doesn't exist-- it's only a thought.

That doesn't mean we stop our pursuit of being a better person-- more informed, more compassionate, more aware of the effects of our behaviors on those around us; and finally, more aware that things like character, integrity, and truthfulness should matter. Somehow it seems recently, we are entering a phase where every behavior is washed away by our leaders. CEOs and politicians lie and manipulate. Well, I still vote for them because they agree with me. Or, I still support them because I want to win. It's almost as if, since we can't ever reach our ideal form, we have decided nothing matters. So we blame, lie, distract, cover up, and blame the other side repeatedly.

Yes, society has evolved to add more nuance, which is excellent. Understanding the circumstances around what people do is a significant step forward. Allowing grace to make amends is impressive, but if the extension of grace is only to people with your belief set, it's not a proper application of grace. Yet, somehow we find ourselves marching forward, supporting people even though they don't sniff even the lowest level of moral code. Because in the age of everything recorded, when our worst moments always see the light of day, we are erasing any standard of integrity, honesty, and morality from being a responsible leader.

Since we figured out there is no perfect form, we decided no form of leadership should exist. Yet integrity isn't never making a mistake. It's taking accountability when mishaps occur. Honesty isn't precisely always telling the truth, but it is attempting to be sincere about the information you put forward and correct yourself when the facts say otherwise. Compassion isn't for only those who share your viewpoint of the world; it's an extension of our shared human experience.

Maybe I missed the point all those years ago in a philosophy class, or perhaps I took the correct lesson to heart. There is no perfect form when we only stop interacting with ideas in thought and introduce the human element. And isn't that the beauty of life? The pursuit of becoming the best version of yourself and not dragging yourself and those around you to your worst form. Support and join with people that aspire to their best form even if you don't see eye-to-eye on everything. That type of thinking is an improved form of whatever we have going on now!