We treat Charlie Brown’s trying to kick the football like a set of individual, necessary decisions.
When Charlie Brown walks back, turns, and starts running for the football, we know what’s going to happen.
Lucy will move it.
How do we know? She does that.
Not just that she did it last time. She does it every time.
Why this is a profound metaphor for life is pretty obvious. And we place a lot of our attention on the optimism of Charlie Brown and the disingenuousness of Lucy. All true. But short-sighted.
Why this works
We treat every attempt like a new attempt. That each time, the good and generous and thoughtful Charlie Brown must think the best of Lucy. He is required to trust her.
And Lucy, for her part, is just going to do what she does. Her script has been written. Almost as if her agency matters little.
In a sense, they are both obligated to do what they do. And yet, his action is the only one that we consider as relevant.
We make his choice the only one that matters.
If Charlie Brown doesn’t trust Lucy, he’s a jerk. If he does, he’s a fool.
Lucy’s perpetual jerkiness is normalized. Part of the equation, even!
Rather than a mere example of Charlie Brown’s futility and incomparable optimism, it reveals the fault in our assumptions. Not just in how we see the characters and their relationship. But also in what we do about it.
We act as if every decision is unique.
Even when bad faith is quite predictable. And outcomes are obvious. Maybe this time will be different.
Charlie Brown doesn’t have to trust Lucy. And doing so isn’t what makes him a good person.