"Our biggest mistake, however, and really, the only thing that makes us into fools, is that we don't acknowledge our foolishness. We go around claiming we are highly rational, quite advanced really, noble and brilliant. And although our high self-regard may have some evolutionary benefits, it is also a primary cause of our stress and guilt. If only we would admit that we are fools, then all is forgiven. By definition, we can do no wrong.
"So, let's celebrate our foolishness. I suggest that we get together in large groups and hold 'fools confessions,' where we admit — out loud and in liturgical fashion — that every truth we stumble on will probably be overturned; and that every god we imagine will likely be deposed by the next civilization's god idea; and that in the end, we will have to admit, ^ la the Firesign Theater, 'Everything we know is wrong.' We could turn April Fool's Day into an important international holiday, and could even designate a 'Fool's Day' once a month, on the full moon. Just imagine how good it would feel if we all got together regularly in large public gatherings and admitted that we don't know what the hell's going on here.
"For our Fool's Day celebrations we will need some foolish rituals. How about a simultaneous, worldwide, six-billion-person kazoo concert? Everybody knows 'Row, Row, Row Your Boat.' A mass mooning of each other might also be appropriate, but it may be more than the collective psyche can stand.
"A very simple Fools' Day ceremony that can be performed in local communities or with groups of friends is the Homer Simpson forehead-slapping ritual, accompanied by a loud, collective 'Doh!' This ritual is somewhat reminiscent of the one that Jews perform on Rosh Hashanah, when everybody beats their chest and confesses to everybody else that they have sinned. On Fool's Day we would beat our foreheads and confess our foolishness.
"Let's practice. Just spread out your palm and get ready. Now, all of you who thought that once the Democrats (Republicans) took over the government things would get much better — slap your forehead and say 'Doh!' Okay, everybody who thought that computers would increase political activism and bring everybody closer together — slap that forehead and let's hear a loud 'Doh!' Now everybody who thought that wearing crystals or meditating would solve all their problems, slap it right on your Third Eye and say, 'Doh!' Okay, one more time, everybody who still thinks that someday they will get it together . . . 'Doh!'
"Embracing our foolishness, whether collectively or individually, is a practice of liberation. Don't think of it as defeat, or in any way demeaning or mean spirited, but rather as a bemused acceptance of our predicament. On the fool's path (headed for the edge of the cliff, of course) you are free to stick out your tongue at the gods, let your hair grow wild, speak in rhyme, and stumble along without any idea of where you are going. Feel the freedom? It's a fool's paradise, and at the very least, you are fool enough to know it."
