“To Err Is Human” — Cancel Culture & The War On Human Error
The War On Human Error
In this world of growing intolerance, technological advancement, online presence and political correctness, there wages a war on human error. We thread lightly about our days with good intentions, careful not to make any mistakes or step on anyone’s toes, but we forget that good intention does not equal invariable perfection, and that “to err is human.” No matter how well intended we may be, and no matter how precisely we may let our good intention guide us, we are still going to make mistakes. When it comes to human nature, this is a fact without exception.
Human Error and Cancel Culture
It is the war on human error, along with the permanence of the internet, that has led to what we call cancel culture. Cancel culture is defined as “the common practice of withdrawing support for public figures after they have done or said something considered objectionable of offensive.” It seems as though lately we are making our way through a list of successful people and making cut through’s at a rapid speed, in search of a world that makes no mistakes.
Within cancel culture, mistakes made in thought and judgement can come back around years later and destroy a person or a career with complete disregard for the evolution of those thoughts and judgements since they were initially shared. This attitude towards human error runs the risk of demotivating the wrongdoer from righting their wrongs, because even when they do so they will be forever held to their previous, less-evolved self. Cancel Culture is also a reflection of the disconnect in society, the gap that exists between real life and the internet, and how it allows us to talk to people, abuse people, cancel people, in a way that we would never dare to behave in real life.
The reality is that knowledge, life experience, and human error are what allows us to evolve into better versions of ourselves. Cancel Culture stands in the way of real activism and progression by silencing a person or a situation where a conversation is needed. In doing so it denounces this opportunity to progress by leaving disconnect and judgement in places where forgiveness and reparation should be.
It should go without saying that cancel culture in this context is very different to accountability. There is of course genuine reasons why people should be called-out, fired, deplatformed, etc. Genuine, well-intended human error is not one of those reasons.
Human Error and The Workplace
Have you ever found yourself in a job where perfectionism was expected? Have you thrived or crumbled under such conditions? The reason we often crumble in jobs where there is little tolerance for human error, is because no matter how much we may thrive for perfectionism, our human form does not allow us to guarantee it. Under such conditions our internal reality does not jive with external expectations, and so we end up stressed. And a stressed state is often a hotbed for the making of mistakes. By this logic, a nurturing environment that allows for human error is ultimately more desirable than one that demands perfection, not to mention a much more realistic one.
Take for example an office environment in which their is a hierarchy of superiority. You make a mistake, a genuine human error, and your boss scolds you for it. He scolds you because he knows he’ll be scolded by his boss, and so on. Oftentimes the issue is not so much in the mistake itself, but rather in the intolerance for human error that is passed up the line.
I do note though that my work experience is mostly in industries where the worst thing human error can cause is financial loss or damaged reputation, both of which are rarely detrimental. I cannot speak for higher-risk industries like health care and aviation where the consequences of human error are much more harmful. But still, unfortunately, the reality is that even in those high-risk industries, mistakes will happen. So, is it not far better in those industries too to accommodate such an environment where staff are calm and collected, instead of stressed and afraid?
A Better Way: Dealing with and Learning From Human Error
Think about your last human error. Maybe you said the wrong thing and offended a friend, or made a mistake in work that led to your boss having to have a difficult conversation with their superior. Is that human error a reflection of your fundamental being, a reflection on your ability to do your job? Or, is it something that you could not have prevented, because you did everything right, you did your very best?
To have zero tolerance for human error is to deny a persons humanness, or to accuse them of acting deliberately rather than unintentionally. And to allow for human error is not to leave every mistake made, every word misspoken, pass by on a breeze without acknowledgement. Instead it is to acknowledge, discuss, educate, and understand. It is these things, not cancelling or silencing or firing, that pave the way for improvement.
We need to ask ourselves: Are people inherently bad and pretending to be good, or are people inherently good and trying their best? If you believe in the latter, then you must allow for human error, in others and in yourself.
And if you are reading this and you are someone who expects perfection, or tries to cancel people, or scolds your colleagues for trying their best, just remember that you are a human too. Unless of course you can guarantee that you’ve done nothing in your past that could get you cancelled, and that you are perfect in all you do, and that you won’t ever make a mistake for as long as you live, in which case you are not human, you are some other being entirely, and so the laws of human nature are of no relevance to you.
“To err is human, to forgive divine.” When it comes to human nature, this is a fact without exception.
