in the movie, "being there," peter sellers plays a character named chauncey gardiner, a mentally challenged man whom everyone mistakes for a genius because of what appears to be his incredibly simple grasp on life's most complex issues. they misinterpret his simplistic remarks as deeply allegorical ones about life. people are in awe of mr. gardiner and they try to follow his no-brainer approach to living a meaningful life. they even think he should run for president! (please refrain from making jokes about the need for intelligence and a run for the presidency.) :)
a person who otherwise would likely have been marginalized - and maybe even institutionalized - became a hero. and a model for right living.
when my priest told us yesterday that all moral problems in the universe would be solved - slam dunk - if only we'd follow this one simple guideline, i immediately thought of chauncey gardiner:
"Lord, make me pleasing in your sight."
and i thought how peter sellers made a lot of money - i don't know how much - saying basically the same thing. and how, on a saturday night, with popcorn and a big, tall coke - and some milk duds - don't forget the milk duds! - how, in a situation like that, we all think chauncey gardiner was right (even if he didn't mean to be).
and how Christ, who did mean to be - and was - is - doesn't get the time of day.
but my priest is right. if each of us made it our job to be pleasing in God's sight - not in our own, not in somebody else's - this world'd be swell.
i remember a particular scene in "being there" where one person, who was the rare doubter of chauncey gardiner's intellectual depth, was talking to a gung ho believer in mr. gardiner. and the gung ho believer said to the doubter, "even if he's wrong, he's right."
and the doubter accepted the gung ho believer's challenge to, go ahead, live according to mr. gardiner's "rules," even if you think he's full of hooey. do it for just a few days and see what you think.
do it for just a few days.......and see what you think.
