“It's too cold,” Karl said, as he thought about going to school. Staying under warm covers as long as possible delayed facing that horrible fact. He shuddered over breakfast from principle, because the house temperature was almost 80 degrees, but it looked so cold outside.
Days were short this time of the year, just before Christmas. “Why does the shortest day of the year have to be during Christmas vacation,” he complained mentally, then realized: “What difference does it make? I wouldn't know unless someone called it the solstice, anyway!” Just like summer solstice, it passed unnoticed, except some people make a big thing out of it. Miss Holman had pointed out that the summer and winter solstices were mirrored in the southern hemisphere. The shortest day here was the longest day there, and vice versa. What if you lived half way? Then there'd be nothing to get excited about!
Going to school in the dark at 8 AM and coming home in the dark at 4 PM marked Christmas It also marked the hunt for Christmas presents. If Carl was lucky enough to find them, it guaranteed disappointment on Christmas morning because then there would be no surprises.
It never gets really dark in the reflective white snow, but going to school was fun because there was always a snowball fight. Except that the cold snow wasn't sticky this time of the year, and snowballs were hard to make.
Solstice marked all this—short dark days, a dark time of the year, and no snowballs. There's something positive about having vacation during the “holidays,” as they're called. And the holidays celebrate the death of a man and the birth of a new year! Well, the new year could be anytime, on any day, so it has no significance except that it's celebrated.
They put a positive spin on the celebration of death by saying His birth is celebrated and attach all kinds of miracles to it. But you are always reminded: “He died for your sins!”
“What?" Karl thought, “ I'm not even responsible for my own sins?!?! Something's fishy here. Is having a lustful thought a sin? Lately, I've been having lustful thoughts all the time. Since they seem so natural, it seems a silly thing for anyone to die for. It's like there's no escape. Damned if you do, and damned if you don't, because Hell is the threat all the time. No escape is Hell.”
The nice thing about school was that there one learned something about the way the world worked. At home, you were supposed to learn how the world was supposed to work. There's a huge difference between those two: should and does. Matching facts with beliefs often finds no agreement. Sometimes there's no agreement at school, either. It's all so confusing. The way people seem to resolve this puzzle is go with beliefs and bend facts to fit. Even more, make up facts to fit the belief. It appears that this is the way the world works. Carl couldn't call it an escape from reality, because reality turns out to be the way belief works, regardless of fact.
The funny thing—the world works despite what is believed. I get up, go to school, have thoughts, learn something, right or wrong, but nevertheless, something, and apply what I learned—or do the opposite. Sometimes, it seems advantageous to obey instinct.
Instinct tells Karl that society is mostly bullshit, but it's wise to not be too different. Look at the fate of people who are even thought to be different where no difference exists. Then, differences are made up, or valueless differences given great value. School society teaches lessons of popularity and persecution. Prejudice was common in grade school, is more sophisticated in high school, and probably even more sophisticated throughout life.
Since beliefs invite conflict, there must be something beyond belief. What is it?
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