If you answered no, don’t feel bad.  You’re just one of the many victims of our paranoid, xenophobic society.

Okay, you can feel bad now.

There is, of course, an element of common sense to consider when interacting out in the public sector.  If the candy in question were being offered from a plastic bag, the behavior would probably qualify as suspicious enough to warrant avoidance.  But at what point in our history did we come to assume that all behavior not being enacted by somebody we know is instantaneously suspicious?  Aren’t we taught that one is innocent until proven guilty?  Yes, but of greater significance, apparently, we are also taught not to “talk to strangers”.  The irony is that we are all strangers.   Strangers stuck living together, shifting aimlessly through space, desperately clinging within the confines of our own imaginary sphere, avoiding the contact of any other, not talking.  And thus, remaining strangers eternally.

We exist as individuals but, in a cosmic sense, we are all a part of the body politic that is the human race.  A body with a self-inflicted cancer it cannot be rid of.

Not just rambling here.  For the sake of curiosity, I had decided to offer some of my fellow human beings some free candy, without any strings attached.  They were unopened candy bars that I had purchased myself.  I will concede to the idea that this may raise some questions.  Unfortunately, our modern men and women are taught to flee as quickly as possible from questions rather than trying to find out the answers.  I stood outside of a convenience store and made an offer to all exiting customers.  I even respected certain boundaries and refrained to speak to anybody’s underage children (even though they would surely derive the most joy from a free piece of candy!).  I was treated to a rousing chorus of “No, thank you” and a few laughs.  Nobody stopped to inquire.  Nobody even really looked at the candy that I had.  Nobody even considered that just because something was out of place does not necessarily mean that it’s a bad thing.

Desperate, I even tried to just extend my hand with the candy bar out as far as I could, not saying a word.  This produced the most comical result.  Folks would recoil, stare dumbfoundedly, and wander off, also not saying a word.

I was not able to give one piece of candy away.  I exclaimed that it was free.  I suggested that it could be given, in turn, to a friend or loved one.  I even resorted to assuring that I had not “done anything” to the candy.  Nothing.

Alright, now consider this: if you happened upon a wrapped candy bar just lying out in the open, would you take it?  Because when I was finally fed up, I decided to leave three candy bars in visible places where they would not be stepped on, and entered the store.  When I came back outside a half an hour later, two of the three were gone.

People are more comfortable taking a candy off of the ground than they are from the hands of a vile stranger.  Oh well.  At least I got to eat the 100 Grand.

Something about all of this is as incredibly sad as it is funny.  The universe is an unpredictable place.  The Earth is a tiny, fragile part of that, and we do not have a lease on it.  The healthiest of us only have about a hundred years before we die.  Wouldn’t we want to make all of that uncertainty and feelings of insignificance as pleasant as possible?  Wouldn’t we want to coexist?  Or is it just safer and easier to stay within your own sphere and never really let anybody into it?

Because God forbid if we were to challenge our boundaries.

“If you woke up in the middle of the night

And in your bare feet you walked outside

And realizing that you were awake that you could fly

Out over the world, out over the world

To places that you’ve only heard of

See faces that you were sold as murderers

But just like you they’re only lonely boys and girls

Like all over the world, all over the world

What if you were back in bed

With one of them floating over your head?

What do you say to your enemies

When you don’t know what it is

That could have been between you?

That could have been between you all”