Just because you can't understand something, doesn't make it wrong.-- Arthur, The Sword in The Stone
This gem comes to us when Arthur is trying to convince Sir Ector that it is not wrong to want any better education then just the typical Squire education. Sir Ector sees this as an act of defiance and promptly give him several more hours of washing dishes.
Just because someone doesn't understand something doesn't mean it's wrong. I have to agree with this particular quote because sometimes when things are said they challenge our way of thinking such as in Sir Ector's case; learning how to read and write is not a bad thing. In fact, it is a good thing, but he did not see it as such because of the fact that he believes that if it has been done a certain way for centuries and works then there is no need to change it. However we know now that is not always the best thing.
Back in the medieval times things were a lot different than they are now. Back then, you could get in trouble for going to the wrong church or thinking differently, including doing what Merlin did and his modernizing things. Most people at the time did not know how to read or write and they were fine with that. They also held strong to the system of if you were a young boy your biggest dream was to go become a squire become a knight eventually or go you would go into a trade like blacksmithing, making things, farming or shopkeeping and for the girls their biggest dream was to marry a rich man and have lots of babies while being the perfect housewife by doing all the cooking all the cleaning all the running the house silently and never complaining once. Back then, you didn't have to read and if you knew how to read you were one of the very few because books were not available as easily as they are now. When King Arthur was alive, books were printed by hand: hand lettering, hand drawing, hand binding, which is why the ones that remain are so beautiful. So only the very rich could own books, which usuallyincluded one Bible. Since there were so few books, there was not much to change a medieval person's mind and to change their mind or way of thinking scared them as it did Sir Ector. With Sir Ector, Merlin points out multiple times he valued brawn over brains. It's not always wise to just jump in with brawn before thinking through a situation. Merlin made enough of an impression on Arthur and he also realizes that the current situation he's in and wants a more advanced civilization too.
Now I realize that this quote is a very charged quote because it could go many different way in terms of understanding. There are some things in life that happen that are completely senseless. Even when we try to understand where the other person is coming from, we don't always understand it and that's OK too. There have been many events in recent history where someone has hurt or even killed another person and we don't understand why someone would do such a mean cruel and heartless thing. In that sense, this quote would not apply because, even though we don't understand why they did it, we know that it is wrong to hurt someone. That is never okay.
Now on the other hand if it challenges our thinking and makes us a better person in the long run then yes this quote would apply. It may not seem like it at the time, but if it has a way of making us think differently and turns us into better people and does not harm anyone in any way it is not really wrong. History has shown us time and time again that we should except a difference of opinion or just differences in general. For example, look at the fifties and sixties with the Civil Rights Movement. It was wrong that people got hurt and killed for standing up for what they believed in. Yet in the long run, it made people see past the color of someone's skin and being diffrent doesn't make them bad people. Let's say in the case of Sir Ector and Arthur, if Sir Ector would have listened to Arthur before Arthur became king, he would have had so many more doors open up to him through being able to read. Arthur understood the value of thinking a little differently because of what Merlin taught him.
So with that always keep an open mind about everything no matter how small and Keep Cooking with Character!
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