Cav's Place

April Fools’ Day… What does having a day during which people are encouraged to lie and make fun of each other say about our society? As if humans wouldn’t be lying and having fun at others’ expense the rest of the time as well…
Just take a moment to think about it. We are celebrating lies; celebrating playing tricks on others! People are being told to be dishonest and manipulative because it’s fun and “cool”! News could be fake, people you trust could put you in weird situations… I don’t care how it started or long it has been going on, it’s just wrong and shouldn’t happen anymore!

Yes, people have every right to do anything they want, including being dishonest and manipulative, but only as long as all those involved know and approve of what’s going on. A group of friends could spend the day trying to play tricks on each other if they want to, that won’t be a problem, but what is a problem is that it’s not “fun” if the other is aware of what’s going on, is it? The whole point seems to be to find people who really believe that what you say is real and who would be the most affected by it… But, you see, it stops being fun as soon as somebody gets hurt. And since the whole point seems to be to hurt others in some way, including embarrassing, angering or saddening them, it simply should not happen.
What’s more, when it goes past the individual level and you start seeing respected news sources publishing fake stories, the potential for hurting people becomes extremely high, especially when such news often take advantage of people’s desires and hopes, telling them that something they have been wishing for has just happened. How do you think those who initially believe such announcements feel once they are told they were just a joke?

I have to ask, is it fun when you get depressed? Do you enjoy feeling used, or cheated, or taken for a fool? If not, then why do it to others? Why take part in this farce? Why would it be different if it’s this one day instead of any other? Is “tradition” enough to turn off your reasoning? Are you just a sheep following the herd?
Actually, the vast majority of people would have to answer “yes” to those last two questions, if they were willing to be honest for a change… Which leads us to a major problem of our society, but that’s not the topic of this post. Here, I’m just trying to show how wrong having such a day is. The fact that people care far more about how things are and were than about how they should be, about right and wrong, is another issue for another time.

I choose to “celebrate” this April Fools’ Day by fighting for truth, honesty and trustworthiness. Not expecting anyone to agree with me, but hardly anybody ever does and that never stopped me before.
Try to be honest and dependable every day of the year… Far too few are those things any day of the year…