Quantum Leap and Setting the Wrong Things Right
The moral case for focusing on the smaller things rather than the big things to change the world.
All of us wish that the world was different some how.
We think that if we were at some of the major moments in history that we'd be able to change them. If we were at Pearl Harbour or the Kennedy Assassination or any number of major events in history, we'd do something instead of just letting them happen. It's built around the idea that a world without these major moments would lead to a world which is better. Especially because we think the world which came after those events was devastating and destroyed so many lives. So we cling to the idea that we can make the world better if only these wrong things were made right. At least from our own perspective anyway.
One of the things we often fail to consider however is to what extent there were a lot of little moments which lead up to those big moments. All the ordinary people who did something or said something that made the world a little less nice and allowed the big events to happen. We're so focused on the big things that we don't even notice the small things. That maybe if we affect the smaller things those major ones might be avoided entirely. Due in large part to the fact that the ordinary people are just as much a part of things as anything else. When looking at it from that perspective, it changes your own outlook on how you respond to other people.
It makes you a lot less likely to say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing to people we see as insignificant. It also places a lot more responsibility on our shoulders. Something that we may not want to take on, because if we did then we'd have to accept that the way the world works is in large part our own fault. That's a tremendous thing to worry about. Most people don't want to accept that. We'd rather believe that our own actions don't have any significance to the broader picture. It makes things much simpler and easier to handle.
Quantum Leap is fundamentally about all those little moments no one ever really thinks about. Sam Beckett, played brilliantly by Scott Bakula, never really deals with the major world events. While they do occasionally pop up, Watergate and Lee Harvey Oswald being the obvious ones that come to mind, the vast majority of people Sam jumps into wouldn't be considered in a major position to have an affect on historical events. Along with Al, played by Dean Stockwell, they mostly focus on what seem to be ordinary events.
Yet they definitely have an effect on the world. Through the fact that they make people's lives better, the world is absolutely a better place for the things that they do. It's hard to see how they couldn't be.
You should take the time to consider how the ordinary events in the world affect it by checking out Quantum Leap as soon as you can.
Check out the show on Amazon. There’s a reboot to the show coming this month as well, which you might be interested in.
This is totally Tolkien's philosophy with the hobbits, too. People doing everyday things with care and kindness are what make the world work.
Quantum Leap is such a brilliant show and I’m amazed by how relevant it still is and how (mostly) ahead of it’s time it was. This was a lovely reminder about why it’s so special, thank you