“Success is not a triumph but a necessity… There's no mistaking it: You are only rewarded for the risks you are prepared to take. Once out of context, actions become indefinable. Any will power or ambition that is brought to bear is arbitrary. There are no external, urgent necessities to justify choices of profession, hobbies, or partners; no force or coercion to render life evident. Everything must come from within”

What motivates the Joker? Can he see something that we cannot see? What if we have so deeply internalized the prevalent power structures, adopted them as our modes of thinking, that conformity is laid upon us not by coercion but by our own conviction?

The exhibit provides viewers with the unique opportunity to see conflict through the eyes of the people that it has directly affected. For students, this is a way to go beyond the books. The exhibit humanizes Arab society, Islam, and Iran in a way that is often looked over in efforts to academically “understand” each other.

Are we just the sum of our malleable memories?

Perhaps the most compelling aspect of Strangers Drowning is the consideration of how outsiders view these “Do-Gooders.” MacFarquhar explores the uneasiness and subtle resentment that Do-Gooders often inspire by contrasting it with our response to heroes