I had a lot of funny stuff planned for this week’s column that I’m not going to use. I can’t really be funny right now.
But I guess I feel like I have to write about the World Trade Center, because I don’t have anything else to do. Yesterday, obviously, all I thought about was checking in with my family and friends in New York (they’re all okay) and then finding out what was happening in the world.
But today I keep thinking about Fraggles.
I went to work today, and I talked to a lot of people about what happened. Every time someone talked about revenge, about striking out at the Palestinians, or the Taliban, I would think: No! They’re not monsters. They’re just Gorgs.
Most of the people who we’re talking about aren’t evil or bad. They just have a different perspective and a different life. They’re scared and angry too. Seeing them as huge ravenous monsters just makes everything worse. The only way we’re going to make peace between the Fraggles and the Gorgs is if we try to understand them, if we try to help them understand us, and if we try to find some common ground.
I don’t want this to sound stupid. I’m not trying to be naive or flippant. It’s just that a lot of people are praying right now, turning to their religious beliefs to help them think about what’s happening. Personally, I don’t have any religious beliefs. The Muppets, Fraggle Rock, Sesame Street — those are my myths, my legends, the stories that I use to make sense of the world and to figure out how to be a good person. It may sound silly, but those are my stories. And if you’re reading a Muppet-fan website right now, then I have to imagine that those are your stories too. Maybe the Muppets have something to teach us right now.
It seems so correct and good that the Bear episode I wrote about on Monday was all about understanding people who are different from us. Bear’s friends were scared of the bat. Bear gently approached the bat, assured him that he wasn’t going to hurt him, found out his name, and then showed his friends that the bat was friendly. Benny the bat was just as scared as Tutter and Ojo. But Bear was calm, and friendly, and gentle, and he found a way to make peace.
I don’t know. I don’t really know how to do this in the real world. I just wish that Bear was in charge of everything today.
by Danny Horn
