Ah, a Hopeful Sign!
A shift in expectations of men
To escape the deluge of media stoking anger, I scan real life around me. I look for undercurrents of progress, glimpses of improvements. This one took me by surprise.
It was after a performance of live theater — “Proof” by David Auburn. Very good play, lots to recommend it.
But one thing stood out for me. First some background — Hal is a supporting character. He desperately wants the mathematical notes of his mentor who recently passed away. Hal has to convince Claire, a surviving daughter, to allow him access.
It’s not smooth going. After all, it’s a play. But what I came away with is — Hal is very good at making an apology.
Apologizing takes at least two steps — recognizing that you’re wrong and then voicing that wrongness with regret. And in my experience, men don’t do it.
So I was struck by how well Hal, in the play, did apologies. They weren’t manipulative fake apologies, either. He truly recognized he’d done something wrong and expressed that with actual regret.
It was refreshing. Not a frequent occurrence in the real world, but I’ve long maintained that we need to imagine a better future in order to get to a better future. And Hal, in this play, “Proof”, portrayed a better future.
