Puck on... Plots

You know, you really must work on this. How long have we been talking and you’re still surprised at the simplest things. Or is it not surprised? Startled? Perturbed? Terrified?

Or all of the above? It’s quite all right, of course. I believe half the reason I can shock you is because you keep forgetting.

Forgetting what?

Who you are dealing with. What you are dealing with. I have been around the block so many times, before there was a block. What did you think? That you could understand me in the space of a conversation? Pay attention, boy. There is much more to learn.

You have plans.

Our ways are many and various. What? We’re not allowed to be creative?

To what end?

Oh, but don’t you already know the answer to that question?

I’m not sure that I do, no.

What do you think? What do they say?

I think you want to corrupt people.

But why? What purpose could it serve? Because I have gathered the full meaning of your question, haven’t I?

Yes.

You want to know the endgame, right?

Yes.

That I cannot tell you. Oh, come now, you didn’t expect it to be that easy? Besides that’s the end of the story, you’re in the middle. Let’s not ruin it. Ah, but as to the fate of individuals, well, that reaches conclusion much faster. 70, 80 years.

You want to corrupt a person. So that, what? They go to Hell?

Oh. My. Boy. How little you know. You think we are the reason for that? That we conquer people? That we somehow convert them to our side? You think that’s how the game is played?

Well, maybe it is time I let you in on the true nature of where I come from.

Puck on... Plans

You want to negate salvation.

Come now, you paint too great a picture of us. You’ll be steering too close to blasphemy, if you’re not careful. I mean can we really negate salvation?

No, I don’t guess so. But maybe you can do something else.

Like?

Like make it less effective.

Oh, now you’re on to something. But how?

Well, if we don’t know about it, can it really help us?

Good start. But that’s elementary. Keep the truth away and it can never help anyone. But the battle is rarely as easy as that. The truth is crafty; like water, it always finds the hole in the floor. Even we can’t stop them all up. The truth will find a way in. It’s insidious that way.

Then you make them believe it’s not truth.

Excellent, you’ve been listening. Yes, convince them it’s not truth and they won’t believe it. Ah, but then you have a problem. How to convince someone a lie is the truth? To convince anyone you have to have some truth, enough to prove your point. After all, lies are lies for a reason; if they weren’t then the truth would be meaningless.

So, you mix in a little truth.

Helps it go down easier. The inverse proportion is actually the more effective. The more truth you have, the harder to find the lie and the deeper it’s held, thus, the harder to remove. You’d be surprised how many little lies you have floating around inside you, unnoticed, unperturbed, unchecked.

But even then, you’re missing the simplest step. You needn’t fight the medicine if the patient doesn’t believe it needs it, not because it has embraced a poison instead, but because it does not believe it is sick.

If you can’t convince us there is no truth, convince us there is no disease.

You are learning. The best lies are the ones that hit at the start after all, before the truth can gain momentum.

So, that’s how you work? That’s the plan?

Oh, come now, boy. Did you think it was that simple? How long have we been talking and it still hasn’t occurred to you that an able tactician never plans for one eventuality but many?

You have other plans?

Oh, child, we have plans you know nothing about.

Puck on... Duality

We are at war with ourselves.

Oh, you think you understand, do you? That you’re at war with your very nature, right? Is that what you think?

Don’t misunderstand, that’s not untrue, just inadequate an explanation. Your situation is indeed as schizophrenic as you imagine. You are two minds, two natures. But it’s less Jekyll and Hyde than you would hope. It’s not that you are at war with another mind within you but the same mind. I’m splitting hairs, but I trust you’ll understand why in a moment.

You see it as a civil war of the soul. One side the good, that wants good, that knows good. The other evil, that wars and works against the good. A surprisingly eastern philosophy for a protestant. But it’s not that. There aren’t two, just the one. The traitor is yourself. You, being good, fight and strive for that good. Then you, being bad, tear down and mock the good that you build. You erect battlements and walls to keep temptations, to keep me, out, and then you wonder why they constantly fail and seem to crumble and dismantle themselves. When, of course, you are the one dismantling them. The conspirator, the man within your ranks collaborating with the enemy, is you. You think I’m lying.

We are not our sin.

But are you not a sinner?

Yes.

Doesn’t your sin matter, then? Doesn’t it carry some weight? If not, then what would redemption mean? Would it be necessary?

But we are forgiven. We don’t have to carry that burden anymore.

But you continue to sin, do you not? What of that?

I don’t-

Didn’t one of your greatest say that he had the desire to do good but could not carry it out? “But what I hate, that I do.”

He also said that it was no longer him but the sin living in him.

True. But that means sin lives within you. You want to divorce yourselves from it, so it doesn’t touch you. But it’s there and it means something. Where did you get this idea that you were two different people: the one good, the other bad? Are you not one person? Without excuse? You see, when you believe that you are two, it makes it so easy to not feel guilty for the things you do, because it isn’t you. But it is. A part, a piece, whatever euphemism you use to try and make it seem like it’s not so much you as something or someone else. But you’re wrong. Every sin is a willful act, an act of you. It must be or salvation itself is meaningless.

And who do you suppose would benefit most from that conclusion?

Puck on... Comparison

So what’s the answer?

There is no answer. Only the question. Only the pointing out of a particular flaw in your species’ reasoning.

We say we want individuality but all the while praise conformity.

Not quite, my boy. You have individuality, yet you crave conformity. Individuality is not something you attain it’s something you possess. You are individuals. It’s part of your existence. The fact that you believe you can be human without individuality is the mistake.

The world wants conformity, you want conformity because you are fighting individuality. Though, that is perhaps not the best way of putting it. To be more precise, you are fighting a particular individuality.

Everyone else’s?

Ha-ha! Oh that’s brilliant. But, again, not quite. Sometimes, yes. And how poetic, too. Crafted in the divine image you seek to craft everyone into your own image. But not what I meant. The individuality you are fighting is the individuality that recognizes itself as such and does not seek change. What you are fighting is the contented individuality.

I told you we liked individuality just fine provided it was the kind we liked. Well, the kind that you like is the kind that is not satisfied with itself. The kind that seeks change, what it calls improvement, but is only the placeholder for conformity. And that’s what the world wants. An individuality that wants to be like all others, that is willing to mold itself so, to follow the wheel grooves and not stray. An individuality that hates individuality. And do you know why?

This is about control.

Power. Yes. Because flocks are easier to control that single sheep. A person is smart, don’t they say?

But people are stupid.

Yes. But why? Because they choose to be. Because they have the individuality that is most wanted. You can’t stand any other.

So we try to control each other.

It gets worse than that. It would be easy if it were some vast conspiracy or even a part of human interaction, each will trying to conquer the other. There is something very animalistic about that. But it’s worse. The process doesn’t confine itself to everyone else’s. It’s most brutal attack, like so much else, is the subtlest.

Haven’t you ever woken up and thought you were a failure? Ever looked around at friends, family, complete strangers and thought that they had something you didn’t? Haven’t you ever stood in the sanctuary and known without a doubt that you were not as good or mature or right-minded as the person next to you? In school, you got grades. Little modes of assessment to tell you if you were farther along or not. In life, there are stages, jobs, possessions, financial securities, methods to measure your maturation. Rubrics that you create for yourself or someone created for you. Rules that are never written down, that have no power, yet mean everything. And you’re sure, convinced that everyone’s getting it but you. And even if they aren’t, you are all failing some predetermined standard. Everyday. All the time. It never stops, this judgment, this grading. You live in it; it is your life.

Don’t you see? The subtlest poison is comparison. To others or the standard, it doesn’t matter. Because that’s the secret. The individuality you’re fighting is your own.

Puck on... Individuality

You hate individuality?

Oh, no, we like it just fine. Provided, of course, that it’s the kind of individuality that we want.

Which is conformity.

Well, that’s a rather bland way to say it, isn’t it? It makes it sound so boring. Why not give a nice title? After all, as we’ve discussed, you humans do like nice, catchy names for things.

What would you call it?

Why not: Evolution? After all, it’s all heading towards the same thing, right? The ultimate existence? The paragon animal? And you are just animals, after all, correct? Why, look at the animal kingdom. Oh, yes, diverse, certainly, with your cats and sheep and sharks. But notice the similarities amongst the cats and sheep and sharks themselves. Can you tell them apart? Yes, you have spots on one and stripes on another, but the spots are always spotty and the stripes always stripe-y.

Presumably they can tell each other apart.

Presumably, yes. Though 9 times out of 10 it’s by smell. But look deeper than that. How many existential lions are there, do you suppose? Or erudite mollusks? Any creative giraffes? Or an ape who finds the termites in this particular hill more tasty than another? Aren’t they all very like each other?

I think some people would insist that their pets are quite unique.

Of course, they would. But how much of that do you suppose is their implanting personality into their animals?

You could easily argue that they were drawing it out.

Yes, you could, but that’s through domestication. In the wild, would they not find themselves forced to follow the call of their species or be left to die? That’s what you do, you little individuals, so keen on offering individuality to everything else, potted plants included.

Is that so wrong?

We’re not here to argue that. The point is that of conformity, as you said. Do you not realize that nature asks for conformity? Adapt or die?

Yes.

And yet you would insist that individuality is some kind of virtue, wouldn’t you?

Yes.

How many of your fellow men would agree with that?

I think a lot.

Really? How altruistic. Don’t get me wrong, they would most certainly say that. But what would they actually believe?

I see, you’re saying people celebrate individuality, but really they are only celebrating the aspects that they want or like or need. That they are fine with individuals provided they are their kind of individuals.

Does that seem so surprising?

No. Most of the time when people offer freedom they are really only offering another set of guidelines.

Exactly. Conformity. Oh, you don’t call it that. You call it a million different things. Fitting in. Adapting. Evolving. Communing. Coming out of your shell. Hanging out. Being social. And my personal favorite: growing up.

The world asks for conformity because that is what it needs. Like nature, it has no space for individuals. You fool yourselves, of course. You talk about your uniqueness, of geography or ethnicity, but it’s a cover. You see, there’s a theory that’s been going around a while that you are nothing more than animals. And if you truly believe that arguments can still be made for society and order as the constructs of man’s evolution, but only just so. If you really believe that there’s nothing that would allow you to be individuals or unique at all. Because you would still be products of nature and it does not want but one way. There are no parallel branches on the evolutionary tree, only superior and inferior limbs.

Now, where do you suppose you got that idea?

Puck on... Differences

Ah, but I can tell you still are not fully convinced.

What you say makes sense.

But…

But why me?

Why not? Humble, are we? Oh, come now. Is that what you think? That you aren’t worth it? Not worth the time or effort or skill? That there is just isn’t enough special about you to demand my attention, is that it?

Something like that.

What if I told you: you are absolutely right?

I would ask: why waste the effort?

Well, firstly, it’s my effort to waste, and I do so at my leisure. Secondly, I don’t consider it a waste. Oh, not because of you, specifically, or anything you’ve done or what you could do or might do. No, no, it’s not you.

And yet it is.

You see this is not an issue of you personally or any man. Oh, I know the differences. It’s not as if you all look the same to us. We can tell. We spend a lot of time trying to convince you otherwise because we can tell. In the end, we choose to treat you the same because we want you to be the same. Because to us, you are the same. In the end, at least.

To us, you’re cattle. A good farmer can tell each of his herd apart, undoubtedly. But when you’re leading them up the ramp, they’re all alike, the differences die long before they do.

Then why? Why spend so much time-

On one man? I already told you that. One man is everything. Oh, we have led the masses astray before, all the time. But it’s not as much a culling as you might think. In the end, there’s a hook for every fish. One could certainly wish for a trawl net, but things rarely work out like that. And there’s much less style to it that way. You see, it’s not you personally, it’s you… existentially.

No, I can say with certainty, there’s nothing particularly about you that one might label as “threatening” or “important”, nothing that would make you a special target. But nevertheless, there is something about you that drives us. Not what you’ve done, not your personality or talents, not who you are but what.

Human?

Individuals.

Puck on... Appearances

So, is that all this was? An attempt to… what? Trick me?

You make it sound like such a waste of time.

But why?

You keep using that word. I don’t think you fully understand the implications. But, then again, we need not go into the broad spectrum, the imminent cause will do. Why did I go on for so long just to fool you?

Yes. Why?

Ah, but the question answers itself.

How?

Why did I try to fool you? To fool you, that’s why.

To fool me, specifically?

Yes.

Is that all?

Again, you make it sound so foolish, but really, what could be more important, more demanding of my time that the fate of a single soul? Have you never learned? Or, like so many of your race, do you only view value in the grand scale? Of men, not man, of nations, not homes, of civilizations, not individual lives. Because small things have small significance, don’t they? For surely, they must. Size matters, ha, after all. Goodness knows, important things never come in small packages.

So you’re saying individual lives matter more than the masses.

Don’t you believe that?

I just never thought you would.

How you misjudge me. I know the truth. Individual lives matter more than all of human civilization, my boy. Civilizations come and go, along with governments and nation-states. Compared to the life of one human soul, all of history is a passing fad. We, my kind, see this. The great ruse we play is making sure you don’t. Making you think all of this, this mockery, this painted backdrop that you play out all your drama against, is the “real”, the solid, the meaningful. You give your lives for this, you will take other men’s lives for this, and Hell laughs.

You are of monumental importance, dear child. Every soul is. That’s why we tempt humans, not countries. These are but the furniture that makes up the manor of your souls. Countries cannot be saved, people can. Civilizations cannot be damned, any more than can a table, people can. You see so little. The forest is a blinder for the trees.

Appearances can be deceiving.

Appearances are always deceiving, that’s why they’re called appearances.

Puck on... Politics pt. 13

Oh my, I have gone long haven’t I? Of course, there is, oh, so much to talk about.

So what’s the answer?

Hmm?

What’s the answer? You’ve talked a lot about what’s wrong with Politics.

And you’re asking what’s right with it?

No. But what’s the right answer. We’ve discussed the wrong ideas, so what’s the right one?

And why are you asking me?

You’re the only other one here.

Touché. But what makes you think I know?

I think you know. You know the wrong answers because deep down you know what the right ones are. At some level, you know.

If I know, then why am I what I am?

You rejected it.

Oh, it’s more than that and less. I don’t care. That’s the thing. I don’t care. I don’t give a lick whether you know the right answers. I live for the fact that you have no idea what the right one is and are mired in so many bad ones.  What? Did you think this was for your education?

What was it for then?

Ah, ah, that’s why again. You always want to bring the conversation back there, but you haven’t earned my reason yet.

Then what are we to make of politics?

Good question. In fact, I believe that was my question. What are you to make of it?

I don’t know. I’m not sure there’s anything we can make of it.

Perhaps. But what is certain is what it is making of you.

It divides us.

You do that already. Politics is just another means. Another dimension to categorize yourself. Republican, Democrat, Independent. Just more words and titles and little boxes to put people in. Another thing you want to tell you what you ought to do so you don’t have to decide for yourselves.

It breeds power struggles.

It is power struggles. That’s the bread of butter of politics. Another means for the big to control the small. For those who are in the know to dupe those who are ignorant.

It makes us hypocrites.

Yes. But, then again, what doesn’t have that potential?

It makes us into something we’re not. It ties us to something we shouldn’t be attached to. It makes us less than what we are called to be.

It is earthly. All its coloring is mundane. What could be more fleeting than politics?

Maybe the question isn’t: what do we make of it, but what do we do about it?

What, indeed? Live with it? It’s not going anywhere. Use it? It will tear you apart. Ignore it? Then how are you changing the world?

Maybe we don’t do any of that. Maybe it isn’t about using it as a means to an end, but making an end of it.

Are you being poetic?

A little. Maybe it’s not about harnessing it, like some wild animal that we can’t control. Maybe it’s about conquering it, like every other temptation we are faced with.

And how will you go about that?

I don’t know.

Then what hope is there?

I don’t know. But I believe there is one. I don’t the answer. But I believe one exists.

Bravo, my boy. You know, for a second, I thought I had you.

Puck on... Politics pt. 12

And, of course, it doesn’t stop there. I trust you have realized by now how the whole process is riddled, nay rife with that little concept we talked about earlier.

“Us and Them.”

Yes. We might call it the law of politics so endemic is it to the system itself. Why it’s what the system is built on. After all, what’s the point of striving for power if there’s no one to strive against? That’s where politics gets its power. It implants the idea that one side is salvation and one damnation, then feeds off the fruit of its labors. The backbiting, the empty promises, the general hypocrisy are all symptoms of this, this underlying vein of thought that winds through everything. Reaching across the aisle is even used in this way, with one side insisting that it would be more than willing to do so if only the other side would cooperate, by which it means stop being the other side and agree with them, and the other side is simultaneously saying the exact same thing. Oh, it’s delicious.

It’s getting to the point where it needn’t be hid. Do you know that in this very political season the phrase “lesser of two evils” has actually been used? And not ironically, either. Quite seriously. It’s hardly to be believed. You’re practically doing our job for us. Does it occur to none of you that that statement carries with it so much misunderstanding and simple-minded thinking that the wisest of every generation have regarded it as little more than a joke? Setting aside the sheer idiocy of the idea, “the lesser of two evils” means you are still picking an evil. And that assumes, of course, that the one you are choosing really is the lesser. How can you be sure? Are you really picking him because he is more righteous, or I should less unrighteous, than the other? Or are you simply picking him because he isn’t the other?

Ah, there’s the rub. Us and Them. Such a useful tool. So many applications. Both sides employ it, for it’s what drives them. And the hypocrisy of even those who think they are above it, who think they are superior to the rabble that don’t know how to think for themselves. Even you aren’t above it. How much of your life is dictated by it? Don’t be so demure.

And all those little people who think they are backing the right horse for no other reason than because he is the only other horse to back. Where’s the progress? And see how they judge the others for the same action. How they accuse them of constructing their cult of personality around their man, thinking him their savior. And what are they doing by detesting him? Are they not constructing their own cult of personality around him but simply in the negative? For worship and hatred are two sides of the same coin. They come from the same place. They each give power to the object adored or despised.

Don’t be disappointed. None of this, not an iota, is anything new. “Lesser of two evils” has been around longer than any of you, that’s why it’s so laughable that you would fall prey to it, a trap so many before you have successfully avoided. But it matters little. Politics doesn’t care. Politics wants power and cares not for the means to get it, as we’ve discussed. One side battles another, feeding off the failures of their opponent, even while feeding them from their own. Like two parasites on the same host. They bicker, they battle, but in the end the only one that suffers is the host.

If you, any of you, were smart, you’d stop. But you’re a junky for politics. It’s got you hook, line and sinker. Because when challenged you fall right back into the old philosophies. Don’t you see that as long as you buy into the idea that Them winning means doom things will never change? Why should they? Us will always be there, standing against Them. The only hope. Never mind that they are saying the same things. Never mind that the party of Us is no more righteous. Best to stick with the lesser of evils. “The Devil you know”, right?

Ha! “The Devil you know.” That’s something I would say.

Puck on... Politics pt. 11

That’s what I love about politics it smuggles in so many different sins: greed, hypocrisy, pride. Oh delicious pride. Sweetest of fruits.

Of course, you don’t call it that. You never do. What’s worse, though, is how you disguise it. You cover it up with such wonderful alacrity. That’s the beauty of politics, it has woven itself into the very warp and weft of your governmental fabric. So much so that one is very much mistaken for the other. Politics and government, politics and civic duty, politics and citizenship. They are one and the same in your eyes! And that’s where the true, how shall I put this, insidiousness of it is.

I told you that the way to win was to not play. Ah, but nowadays the not-players are the outcasts. Your society condemns them. How dare they! To go against the very framework of democracy. Little realizing that all the things you now consider democracy were never part of the framework, but the dressing added by the corrupt and the power-hungry. But you don’t care. Why should you? The system moves on, and it “works”, to a point. Power volleys back and forth between your parties: one taking the ball until they fumble it to the other who does no better in their treatment. Each in an endless cycle of desire, conquest, abuse and reversal. The system is self-perpetuating. Because you only have the two options, and you’ve never asked for another or for the options to be better. You’ve simply accepted what was given to you by those who know how to play the game, in ever increasing stakes. In the arms race of words, empty promises and meaningless accusations. Because that’s the big secret: they are both playing the game. Hilariously, while maintaining that the other side is really the one who is abusing the system. And you see how it goes on.

But as if that weren’t enough, what it does to you, to your kind, is delectable. You have set up hope in your politics. Perhaps in the one place it is least suited to thrive. After all, how can the seed last among thistles? You think your country has fallen far, don’t you? That it was once so great, and now so threatened by… oh, it doesn’t really matter what. Never mind that the time of national greatness you point to never existed; if it did, it was almost certainly contemporaneous with slavery, racism, manifest destiny or a thousand other state-sanctioned sins. No, what is really the kicker is this desire, this illusion that you’re nation is under judgment, and if you don’t act, if you don’t perform up to par you are doomed.

And do you see how subtly, under the guise of righteousness, a works-based philosophy is snuck in? That if you don’t pass the right laws, elect the right people, the wrath will come. Now, where do you suppose you got that idea?

Puck on... Politics pt. 10

But don’t breathe that sigh of relief just yet, my boy, as I don’t think we fully put this matter to bed.

Will we ever?

Good point. But don’t worry, we will move on to more fruitful matters when the time comes. For now, I think there is an aspect of your political motivations that requires more discussion.

Let us posit a situation, shall we? Supposing a “candidate” was so bold as to offer you a sum of money, say a million, that if they were elected, you would receive it. Would you take it?

No.

Of course not! You are a man of honor after all. And who would? Why the indignity of it.

Now supposing another candidate promised that if elected they would work to put through tax cuts and eliminate government spending, so people like you could take home more of your hard-earned money. Would you support them then?

You know what? You don’t have to answer that. Here’s my question: what’s the difference between the two? Hmmm?

Let’s leave you out of it, to save that precious pride; do you think others would take the second offer?

Yes.

In fact, you can see that many already have.

Yes.

So, what’s the difference? Why is the first proposal considered so indecent and the second lauded, praised? What reason do you suppose one of those supporters would give for backing the second’s plan?

I suppose, they might say that they had earned their pay, that it wasn’t wrong because it was already their paycheck.

Oh, but they shouldn’t count themselves so short. After all, if he wants to be so generous, who are they say to no? They will certainly have earned the first’s money. That was the promise. They will do their part and he will do his. Why should we look down on this exchange?

Because it’s a bribe.

And what is the other candidate’s plan? Is he not plucking at the same string as the first, appealing to the same part of the citizen? What is so different? Is not the reasoning the same? Why should gains be so ill gotten when someone wants to simply give them to you as opposed to promising to take less? Isn’t the same thing being bought?

And here we have the second part. Before the ends justified the means, but here, the means are meant to justify the ends. And this is not so uncommon a practice. A thief is tried and punished, but a businessman is a success, however he chooses to make his wealth.

They are not always praised.

No, but so few find their way into courtrooms. Of course, we perhaps are skirting the central point. We are talking about taxes, aren’t we? The rules are different, always different with taxes. You said yourself, that is your money, and we both know, that any amount that you have to give- Give? No, they demand it from you, steal it! Any amount you must render unto Caesar is nothing more than an absolute encumbrance, a punishment. Why, it’s unconstitutional! (Oh, the speech I could give you about that word.) And any man that promises to lighten that load must be a saint, deserving of your absolute devotion.

Never mind the fact that money indeed makes the world go round. For governments no less that businesses. If they cannot get it from you, where do you expect them to get it? Is it any wonder manifest destiny was once a popular idea? Let the foreigner foot the bill. That surely can’t come back to bite you.

Ah, greed. You are such a crafty sin.

Puck on... Politics pt. 9

Ethics?

Surprised that I would bring such a subject up? The fact that someone like me would probably says something about how far you all have fallen, doesn’t it?

Yes, ethics. A word, admittedly, that does not often enter the discussion of politics. When it does, though, it’s usually by one side calling another out. Ionic, that you would only broker the concept when you feel someone else needs to follow it.

But what of ethics and politics? Does it enter into the equation at all? Should it?

I should think so.

Yes, you should. But the question beyond “should” is always “does”.  Does it?

Not often.

Yes, but keep in mind, we’re not talking about them, we’re talking about you. And what you have failed to realize is not that ethics and politics rarely run together, but that ethics and politics are mutually exclusive.

I can tell I’ll have to explain. You are in the world, but you are not called to be of it, are you?

No.

And yet, one of the first points we established was that politics was of the world, intrinsically, genetically. So, the question is: do you even belong there?

Here, you would no doubt point out the benefits, the victories, the duties you hold to, which you have been going on about throughout this discussion. But that’s really beside the point. Of course you get something out of it. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t bother. The question of ethics is never what you get but what you do to get it, what you sacrifice to get it. Ends. Means. Why can you never learn this lesson?

Ah, ethics. It’s funny how easily you forget it. Sad, I should say. But really now, did you think there wouldn’t be rules? Requirements? Did you think you could do as you like and damn the consequences?

These are the questions you must answer, my boy. The questions they will ask, because they are watching. As I said from the start: how you conduct yourselves politically is moot, that you conduct yourselves politically is the real clincher. So, why?

I suppose we are not perfect.

True, but that excuse will run out eventually, mark my words. It is even now dwindling. You are not perfect. You have not yet overcome your human nature. You still seek power, control, influence, because your DNA cries for it like mother’s milk. But because of what you claim, you still like to call yourselves blessed, humble and sanctified. But it won’t work. You can’t stand atop the pedestal and still sink to their level. You think you can play the world’s game and still stand in judgment of it?

And this is a game. A grand, glorious, ghastly game. And the only way to win is-

To not play.

You got it. 

Puck on... Politics pt. 8

What do you think of that?

You’re saying separation of church and state was made to protect us?

Yes.

From what, exactly?

Why, the most powerful enemy imaginable. Yourselves.

So, the temptation of politics is too great.

The temptation for power is. And that’s the real problem. Power corrupts. You are no exception. Though you think you are. It’s the oldest story in the world. Told again and again, though you never listen. You never learn. Though you may start with the best of intentions, it doesn’t matter. It never will. No matter what you do. No matter what you aim for. Because the goal cannot redeem the measures you take to reach it. And if the measures be damned, what then? As long as that kind of power is the means, it will always corrupt the ends.

So, long ago, great men saw salvation in one simple act: self-denial.

Self-denial.

Not very… American, is it? That shouldn’t surprise you. It’s not very human after all. That was what you said, wasn’t it? That you had a responsibility, a duty to what?

Make our voices heard.

“Make our voices heard.” Can you hear yourself talk? “Voices heard.”  That’s what you said.  “We have a responsibility to make our voices heard.”  But do you?

Don’t we?

Don’t you? Where are you drawing that particular responsibility from? Where is it written, that you must make sure people are aware of your opinions?

We live in a democratic society. As citizens, it’s our duty to participate. Because if we don’t-

If you don’t, someone else will. If you don’t, someone else will speak for you, will get there before you do, will have what you want. The heart of self-determination. Self. If you don’t speak yourselves, who will? Pull yourselves up by your bootstraps and make sure they pay attention to you. Make the world know you exist. Is any of this coming across as terribly mature? But that’s how you comport yourselves. That’s how everyone does. Your democratic society, where the goal is… Self. In all it’s glory. Don’t you see, why you are doomed to repeat the same mistakes?

Let me ask you this: if your definition of citizenship is making your voice heard then wouldn’t that mean that the goal of citizenship is selfishness? Ah, but this is a democratic society, where the people decide. Where the people decide how they are governed. But then again, if the people knew how they ought to be governed, then would they need government? So, what are we to make of democracy?

I’m not sure there’s anything we can make of it.

Giving up hope so soon?

No. I don’t argue with what you say about democracy. Maybe that’s why they say it’s the worse until you look at all the other options.

True! So, true. After all, if it involves people how high can our standards really be, hmm? But let’s not let that be an excuse. For you are called to higher things, are you not? You are called to be higher. To rise above the mundane, to the divine. The question still remains: what are you to do? Given the world you live in, the country, the state of the union, what are you to do? How now shall you live?

And here, as so often is the case, you miss the answer right in front of your nose. Oh, sweet, sad irony. That of all the things you forget that you should forget this one lesson.

What’s that?

Ethics.