Trick or Treat

In general, people like to have options. In a way, options are empowering because they allow for the freedom to make a choice. In about a week, people will be choosing between Democrats or Republicans on Election Day. Tonight, children are walking the street saying “Trick or Treat”. Earlier I chose organic fat free milk over whole milk, 2%, 1%, soy, and almond milk. Tomorrow I will likely eat at B. Merrell’s solely for their extensive options. Even Baskin Robbins has capitalized on the offering of options.

Interestingly, we are often deceived by options. During the course of Halloween tonight, I was taunted by the option of giving the children tricks or treats. But, the only options I had were how many and what kind of treats I gave them. This usually consisted of whatever I pulled out of the candy bucket. While I was told that I had the option of giving a trick or a treat, the option was merely a formality.

I have also learned a recently about negotiations. While working with a group of people on a project to plan for the construction of sidewalks, several residents protested the building of sidewalks in their neighborhoods. A quick remedy to this situation would be to give the residents an option. Presenting a plan to build a gay bar in their neighborhood usually makes the idea of building a sidewalk very benign. That’s called putting things in perspective.

The ballot is another place where choices are deceptive. The current ballot in Leon County has several options for positions such as water management administrator. Given the lack of information about the various candidates makes the vote a shot in the dark.

In religion was often debate whether humans are predestined or whether they have free will. Without advocating the position of the “frozen chosen”, I’d argue that there is no such thing as free will. It seems more like we have the ability to make decisions within the realm of limitations. We are all confined by things such as the law of physics, despite our perceived free will.

Ironically, I often hear people say that we are crippled by the number of number of options available today. American society has been built on the capitalist ideas of competition and options. Unfortunately our choices are the equivalent of trick or treat. When we have the choice of tricks or treats, we end up with nothing more than a mouth full of candy lacking substance.