Dregs of Yore

The word, both written and spoken, is the means by which we give shape to formless potential, a way to breathe spirit into the lifeless; indeed, a means to de-obscurize (to coin a terrible term) the world.  Historians have chronicled our journey in words.  Political leaders and rulers have used the power of words and rhetoric to mobilise entire nations.  Both trade and peace have been negotiated by diplomats through words. Lawmakers have contained in their wordy laws the proper way to live in a society. Priests have done their preaching, in large part, using words. And of course, most obviously, great authors have brought about revolutions, elevated mindsets, all by means of the humble(?) word. On a more individual level, each human being thinks in words, reflects upon one’s experiences and understands them better when he puts them into words. To put something into words is to specify, to give a name to things. Without this christening of the problem (as I like to call i...

The moral high ground is overcrowded these days, and the modern man competes with his fellows over “virtue” instead of bread. In his version of things, modern man is always fighting over injustice of some or the other form. And he always claims, or rather, he takes it as given that he is on the side of the right. In his mind, he is the sole champion of justice, and anyone who stands in his way is less virtuous and stands for injustice. It doesn't matter who the adversary is. It may be the system. It may be his own family. He sees the system as rigged against him. He sees his people conspiring against his interests. And therein, begins his hate. The vitriolic hate of the modern man - is there anything more blinding than it? Indeed, it is his most powerful weapon. It slashes and cuts all who stand in his way, and in the end, it brings about his own undoing.  Good versus bad. Justice versus injustice. Sufferer versus perpetrator. Compassionate versus ruthless. Invariably, he assigns h...