staircase inside the St Augustine Lighthouse, photo by dr. fil
Even though I never was a great fan of the late Janez Drnovšek, he had my respect and possibly surprisingly so I felt saddened by his passing. As a year went around, so many things changed and so many things stayed the same. And, as years tend to do, another one came, stayed a while and waved goodbye. For me, for some reason, this has become a time for reflection.
What a ride it’s been. Crises springing up left and right. Some more man-made than others, some made up. The constant feeling of urgency, of pressure to “act or else” has been unrelenting. Anyone mention panem et circenses? Show time! And boy, have we had a few some circus acts. Twitter came in handy as a vent, so I have not really blogged about them (but Mr. P has).
What I find deeply disturbing is the level of debate that has become acceptable if not the norm. It would seem that the most fundamental (n)etiquette rules are being blatantly ignored. Reality show type of reporting in the media where attractiveness of a news – if we dare call it that – piece takes precedence over its credibility seems to have taken over and changed the tone of public discourse. If a long time ago one wished for more relaxed public speakers, one now finds herself dangerously close to supporting the use of gag orders. Heck, the use of gags in general.
Conspiracy theories have been around since the forbidden fruit was consumed. And networks have existed ever since. For cover-up purposes, naturally. Now seriously – alone, a single human is a rather weak animal. Together with others, he or she can achieve so much. Learn from one another, help each other, build together, make music. (And destroy ever so effectively). Continuously, we yearn for human contact, for a feeling of connectedness. Face it. Tweet it, even.
The concepts of human rights, of human dignity, of letting the law rather than lynch mobs remedy transgressions in a society, the presumption of innocence, all of these came much later than the need to build networks of people. And, it seems, what comes last is the first to go down the drain when Maslow’s pyramid is chipped off. The steadiest of men will struggle to keep to the principle of treating others the way he would wish to be treated when emotions run high. The feeling of belonging to a group of people who appear to share the same belief and ride the same wave of emotions is bound to drive that wave up into the skies. For better or for worse.
But… Who are you, when you are alone and all by yourself with nothing to keep you company but your thoughts? Are you at peace with what you see inside?
