Perfection is the Enemy

Perfection is the Enemy

John Paul Derryberry

I was all set to write a blog this week about becoming reacquainted with 5:30 a.m. because that's when I can get a run in. Then I realized that it is a part of the privilege of my social, economic, white status.  I have the ability, after three weeks of writing about race, inequality, violence, and hate in our world today, to leave it all behind me. My ability to craft words about racism will run out long before racism does, so I will have to move on at some point. Not because I want to but because crafting meaningless words on such a severe issue cheapens the cause and makes me not an ally but a panderer of the fight. 

The Universe or Divine intervention, depending on what you believe, intervened this week. Out of the blue, a friend texted me a quote:
"Don't Stop and try to make your sentences or passages better as you go. One of us will help you with the latter. Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. Just lurch forward and flail onward- just write the next disappointing sentence."  -Anne Lamott. 

What came to mind instantly was the outrage when the NFL players took a knee to protest police brutality. Next was the anger of people trying to get advertisers to be more responsible by not advertising on shows spewing racist language.  Then the powerful stated it was irresponsible to march against the police because it was one bad apple and we are in a pandemic. Lastly, it was now that you have burned stuff down, the whole movement is based on violence. No matter what those seeking equality do, those in power say it's wrong. It's always no- not that way. We would listen to you if you did it differently. And when those protesting injustices change methods, the powerful say, still not the correct approach.  Those in power change the goal to get their attention all the time.  So I implore those protesting and becoming change agents: forget formatting for a perfect protest, just keep speaking truth to power.

I bet a lot of money that there was a group of Red Coats before the Revolution saying, "You know, if the colony did not throw our tea in the harbor, we would listen to their concerns."  When people in power don't like the truth in the message, they blame the way the people say it. "Defund the police" is an excellent example of this. Someone in power heard it and said, now they want to cancel the police. Ninety-nine percent of the "defund the police" crowd is talking about resource allocation and moving away from the idea that more police and police gear makes us a safer and more compassionate society.  So I say to them: carry on, flail away at how to communicate correctly that we spend too much money in this country on violent solutions to non-violent situations.

There is no perfect way to disassemble racism. Lebron James, who rose out of the foster care system to become a well-spoken NBA star, speaks elegantly for change. He gives back to his community in a big way, yet still had the N-word spray-painted on his property. If he can't ascend racism, there is no way to change racism on the existing roads we travel. We must build new roads.

Coming full circle, I get up at 5:30 am in pursuit of the perfect run, knowing I'm never going to achieve it. I know the ideal race is out there. Everything clicks. And for as long as possible I carry my body to my perfect time, but it's a one-in-a-million shot. We all know we will not entirely destroy racism. Someone in some far-off corner of the country will whisper, "white people are better than black people". So stop holding those seeking equality to the standard of perfection when you know full well that you keep them to a standard they can not achieve as a way to hang on to power.

To those leading the cause, in the mash-up of words from Anne Lamott and me: perfection is the enemy of the people. So carry on and strive for a more perfect society. Show us all that our American society needs to treat everyone equally. And most importantly, the most American thing to do is to always speak truth to power even if you trip over a word or two.