War and the Small Nations (Kahlil Gibran, 1883-1931)

In light of the unpredictable machinations of Russia (more particularly Putin) regarding the Ukraine, this little story may resonate with some: 

 

Once, high above a pasture, where a sheep and a lamb were grazing, an eagle was circling and gazing hungrily down upon the lamb. And as he was about to descend and seize his prey, another eagle appeared and hovered above the sheep and her young with the same hungry intent. Then the two rivals began to fight filling the sky with their fierce cries.

 

The sheep looked up and was most astonished. She turned to the lamb and said, “How strange, my child, that these two noble birds should attack one another. Is not the vast sky large enough for both of them? Pray, my little one, pray in your heart that God may make peace between your winged brothers.”

 

And the lamb prayed in his heart.

Mother's Day

I know that I was very fortunate. I had parents who were gentle and kind – both highly intelligent, well educated people.

But I suppose I was a bit of a “Mummy’s boy” as I adored my mother! I know that she had a very difficult time with the birth of my late brother Bruce and she lost a baby boy, Adrian, between Bruce and myself. So I suppose there was some anxiety when I came along – a hulking 4kg (9 1/2LB) baby.

But this is not about me but my thoughts on mothers generally. To me mothers are special and I really believe a jump or two ahead of us men. Physically smaller, nor as physically strong as men, generally they are emotionally way ahead of us males. 

Think about it - life is conceived in a woman’s womb where it is nurtured until birth. That must be very difficult, I would think, while still carrying on with daily life. And a baby, once born, is so helpless.

So, I owe my mother a great deal. More than I can ever repay. She gave me unconditional love and an a deep appreciation of literature, music and poetry that have been my standby during my times of tribulation. And I trust that in my life so far, I have tried to treat women, all women, with the respect I believe they deserve.

Not being able to find a poem that would be appropriate, instead I will use a short piece by Max Ehrmann (1872-1945):-

Love some one.

"Love someone – in God’s name love someone - for this is the bread of the inner life, without which a part of you will starve and die; and though you feel you must be stern, even hard, in your life of affairs, make for yourself at least a little corner, somewhere in the great world, where you may unbosom and be kind."

And may this always refer to a man’s treatment of a woman and a mother – any man and any woman or mother – anywhere. 

Just be kind.

Sell your reputation for a song.

This is actually quite an old post that I have resurrected as I believe it has some resonance today.

People have idols; things they value above all others; even, unfortunately more than they value themselves – their self-worth, their honour and their reputation. There has been a spate of media reports about people who have indulged in, shall we say, less than charitable behaviour.  People from all walks of life have been found guilty of malpractice of one type or another.

I have said before that poets can often say in a few words what it takes others, like me, many words to express. There is a very appropriate quatrain (verse) in the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (Omar Khayyam was an 11^th Century Persian mathematician, astronomer and poet) - which goes as follows (verse 69): 

 

69

                                           Indeed the Idols I have loved so long

                                           Have done my Credit in Men’s Eyes much wrong:

                                              Have drown’d my Honour in a shallow cup,

                                           And sold my Reputation for a Song.

 

For many people their idols are money (or the “stuff’ that money can buy); or prestige and the power that comes with their position. If you “love” something above all others – an idol - this will soon be apparent to all who know you. You will have removed yourself from the rest of humanity; you will be using people as a means to an end; you will be using people to acquire more of what you “love”. They will sense this and you will have done your “credit in Men’s eyes much wrong”. 

To get your idol you will cheat, you will lie, you will become untrustworthy, you will be immoral, you will not be ethical in your activities. You will have drowned your honour in a shallow cup – lost your honour for something of little value – a “shallow cup”. 

Your love for, your fixation to, your worship of your idol means that you have lost all sense of proportion or reason and are prepared to sell your self-worth – who you are – for a “song” - something of no substance. You will have diminished yourself as a human being.

No one will ever trust you again – your self-worth, your reputation, your honour will have been damaged almost beyond repair.

Today - The importance of ORDER.

I know that I have commented on this before but I strongly believe that today, in April 2022, it is even more necessary for Governments, all Governments, to be VERY careful.

 

These turbulent and extraordinary times require that we should all take time to reflect on what we, as belonging to the species Homo Sapiens (“wise man”?) can start doing now and keep on doing into the future. 

 

We need to reflect on the full meaning of the term “civilization” and how this is expressed by our current ways of life and the general disorder we generate.

 

Such reflections may, just may, help to redress the disastrous and damaging ways we, as a species are despoiling the very Earth, the Nature, we need for survival.

 

To this end I offer the following extracts from quite an old book – but the sentiments expressed are, to my mind, still valid and very true:-

 

From “African Genesis” by Robert Ardrey, (Fontana Books paperback, 1970).

Pages 393/394:-

 

“But no animal compulsion stands alone in the debate of our instincts. And so I return to my second assertion, that civilization is a product of evolution and an expression of nature’s most ancient law. Far antedating the predatory urge in our animal nature, far more deeply buried than conscience or territory or society lies that shadowy, mysterious undefinable command of the kind, the instinct for order. And so, when a predatory species came rapidly to evolve its inherent talent for disorder, natural selection favoured, as a factor in human survival, the equally rapid evolvement of that sublimating, inhibiting, super-territorial institution which we call, loosely, civilization.

 

It is a jerry-built structure, and a more unattractive edifice could scarcely be imagined. It’s greyness is appalling. It’s walls are cracked and eggshell this. It’s foundations are shallow, it’s antiquity slight…… Yet however humiliating the path may be, man beset by anarchy, banditry, chaos and extinction must in last resort turn to that chamber of dull horrors, Human enlightenment. For he has nowhere else to turn.

 

If man is to survive without war, a gloomier conclusion could not be written that that this fragile, despicable, unattractive structure must become our last court of appeal. It has failed us consistently in the past. It tends to fall down every thousand years or so.”

…….

 

“But the choice is not ours. Never to be forgotten, to be neglected, to be derided, is the inconspicuous figure in the quiet back room. He sits with head bent, silent, waiting, listening to the commotion in the streets. He is the keeper of the kinds.

 

Who is he? We do not know. Nor shall we ever. He is a presence, and that is all. But his presence is evident in the last reaches of infinite space beyond man’s probing eye. His presence is guessable in the last reaches of smallness beyond the magnification of electron microscope. He is present in all living beings and all inanimate matter. His presence is asserted in all things that ever were, and in all things that will ever be. And as his command is unanswerable, his identity is unknowable. But his most ancient concern is for order.”

……

 

“You may read his command in the regularity of turning things, in stars and seasons, in tides and in striking clocks….”

 

“Where a child is born or a man lies dead; where life must go on though tragedy deny it; where a farmer replants fields despoiled by flood or drought; where men rebuild cities that other men destroy; where tides must ebb as tides have flowed; there, see his footprints, there and there.”

 

 He does not care about you, or about me, or about man for that matter. He cares only for order. But whatever he says, we shall do. He is rising now, in civilization’s quiet back room, and he is looking out the window.”

 

Inspiration

I’ve used this before but I think it is worth another look.

 

In troubled times we all need some inspiration to lift us out of the hole we may find ourselves in and give us hope for the future. Words of inspiration shine a light in the dark corners of our mind and dissipate the fearsome shapes and shadows our imaginings may have created. 

 

The poem, “Ulysses” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, is such a one and has inspired many. 

 

The words of the poem are a paean of praise to the indomitable human spirit; of the beauty of love for one’s fellow beings and the knowledge that Man can always aspire to, and achieve, greater and grander things. They remind us we are all free to seek for and arrive at that moment in life when peace, harmony and contentment fill our hearts. That we are better than we could ever imagine. 

 

Now, for sure not everyone likes or appreciates poetry but poets often get it right, as in this case. The poem’s last six lines, I feel, are the important ones:

 

                                                                        “.....; and tho’

                        We are not now that strength which in old days

                        Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;

                        One equal temper of heroic hearts,

                        Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will

                        To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

 

 “... but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.” – powerful words. 

 

In the context of the poem, Ulysses (as the Romans called him, his actual Greek name was Odysseus), was immortalised in Homer’s “Iliad” and “Odyssey”, which chronicle the siege of Troy and his epic journey home to his long suffering but faithful wife, Penelope, after a twenty year absence – is now an old man. But he is still fired by thoughts of greater things to do and greater feats of endurance. He is still seeking something, but unsure what. 

 

Ulysses (Odysseus) was not only a brave and fearless fighter, but also a brilliant tactician – it was he who devised the famous Trojan Horse that was used by the Greeks to finally overcome the defenders of Troy and break the siege, some thirty one centuries ago.  

War.

I always thought that the old saying, “War is sweet to those that know it not” was of Roman origin but apparently it is from ancient Greece - from the Greek poet Pindar (518BC – 438BC), to be exact. I have no knowledge of the Greek language but have a fragmentary knowledge of Latin and Pindar’s original Greek is the origin of the Latin proverb "Dulce bellum inexpertis" which is translated (more or less) as, “War is sweet to those that know it not”.

 

The continuation of what Pindar wrote is; “but the experienced man trembles exceedingly at heart on its approach.”

 

I believe that this proverb is as true today as it was 2500 years ago. 

 

In the name of God, why start a war? Why? 

 

It is my firm belief that human ego and pride are the reasons. These two give rise to the widespread misconception of “us” and “them”. Us being always better, more intelligent and culturally advanced than them and that “our” God is better than “their” God. Therefore it matters not how we treat such inferior beings – God is on “our” side!

 

The old concept of the Scapegoat is very apparent – always blame “them” – awful, inferior people. Now the Ukrainians are termed Nazis and must be eliminated. Sound familiar?

 

It takes two to tango – as the old saying goes. It stands to reason that differences of opinion will arise (humans being the fickle creatures they are) therefore it will always be necessary for there to be (as Winston Churchill famously phrased it) more “jaw, jaw” and less “war, war”. And “jaw, jaw” is always less costly in human life and material than “war, war” – always.

 

Vladimir Putin was born, in Leningrad (since renamed back to its original St Petersburg), on 7 October 1952 – so he has no direct, feet on the ground, shooting, experience of war. There is, however, something that we all need to be aware of – both Putin’s parents experienced the Second World War first hand, his mother in the terrible siege of Leningrad and his father, a soldier, was severely wounded fighting the Nazis.

It is now recognized, and is well documented, that trauma of any type affects a person’s body, not just the brain and mind. Trauma affects the “epigenetics” – those proteins that trigger genetic activity – in fact the “Body Keeps the Score” (the title of a book by psychiatrist, Bessel Van Der Kolk).

It will therefore come as no surprise if it is ever determined that Putin is suffering from the traumatic events experienced by his parents. 

Us and Them.

These are two very conflicting, almost contradictory, words. US being me and my family; my cohort; my language speakers; with my skin colour; with my belief system – in other words my “comfort zone”. 

 

But THEM – they are none of the above and are therefore unknown; not to be trusted; possibly dangerous; certainly to be avoided if at all possible.

 

Now I’m sure this has been so since humans formed tribes for protection purposes many, many, millennia in the past. One would hope that the antagonism, hatred, death and destruction that resulted would, by now, be something to look back on with shame.

 

Unfortunately not. Now, far from casting blame I would just draw attention to what I, personally, consider to be some of the underlying “causes” for this very, not to say, dangerous, situation:-

 

Formal religion hasn’t helped. In fact it has, in my view, been the underlying cause of much grief. Think the Crusades – those infamous campaigns to recapture the “Holy City” of Jerusalem that had been taken by the Islamic Sultanates ruling over large swathes of the “Holy Land”. Them – Bad Islamists and Us – Good Christians. 

 

Then there have been the millennia long “antagonism” between various sects of ALL religions – Catholic vs Protestant; Sunni vs Shia. Hindus don’t like Muslims (and visa versa) – so the simmering conflict between India and Pakistan continues. Then of course the Jews – they killed Jesus, you see, so no one likes them!

 

Through the great sweep of history to the present day – South America and the Spanish “conquest” of the Aztecs; the “colonisation” of North America, Africa, Australia, India and many Asian countries has been a, possibly, subconscious example of scapegoating. Then there were the religious wars - Protestant vs Catholicism  - of the 16^th and 17^th centuries and even today with the “differences” in Palestine and Israel, Turkey and Armenia, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. 

 

The wall between the state of Israel and the Palestinian territories on the West Bank is a “protection”. As well as being a security fence, it also represents a psychic barrier. The danger is that people come to think that those on the "other side" are irredeemably evil and inhuman.

 

This is similar in intention to the now demolished “Berlin Wall” – the wall built between the Evil Capitalist West and the Good Communist East (the USSR).  

 

Then of course the most horrendous of all “differences”, those charged by Hitler for causing the financial collapse of Germany after the First World War (1914 – 1918) - the millions of Jews, Gypsies and mentally troubled, exterminated at the hands of the Nazis during the 1930s and early 1940s.

 

The list is almost endless.  And what has been achieved?

 

Nothing. Except a retreat to and repositioning of the old standby – the Scapegoat.

 

It’s all YOUR fault. 

Scapegoating: A Chilling Truth About Human Behaviour.

 

When it comes to interpersonal conflict, humans have long preferred to blame other individuals 

or groups rather than look, deeply, at their own behaviour. Scapegoating is when an individual or group selects another person or group to bear the responsibility for any conflict or social dis-function. The person or group that is targeted and blamed is the scapegoat.

 

This can be understood if it is believed that the person who falls into the scapegoat role would typically be a person who is the least like the in-group members who seek cohesion and conformity among each other. After all, one of the functions of conformity and cohesion in groups is survival, and outsiders who demonstrate difference from the group, may be considered a threat.

History is practically written by a narrative of scapegoating. In the Torah (first compiled in about the 6^th Century BCE), it is said that men who engage in homosexual behaviour should be stoned to death. In the late seventeenth century, some locals in colonial Massachusetts didn’t no how to settle political and religious differences, so when a few women started acting on their own, they were labelled as witches and hanged. And of course, survivors of sexual assault are frequently branded at fault by the perpetrators and by systems of power.

Some people wonder how we could be so fatally blind, but the chilling truth is that in each of these examples, the people who blamed the scapegoat genuinely believed the ‘scapegoat’ was wrong and deserved punishment. Invariably, when we hear about these instances, our own reactions are of outrage. “How could someone do such a thing? Surely, we would know better than those people?”

The thing is, our outrage at scapegoating often contains an assumption – that the perpetrators intentionally blamed or targeted the scapegoat. Thus, they are bad, and we are good. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple, and we’re all, subconsciously guilty of similar scapegoating dynamics, however difficult this is to acknowledge.

Only a quick glance at history, as previously mentioned, is needed to reveal the chilling truth that humans prefer to scapegoat and save face, than to sit with and accept their own “stuff”. This doesn’t necessarily make some people “bad” and other people “good,” but scapegoating does illustrate how complex human psychology can be. Ultimately, scapegoating will not cease to exist as long as people continue to have minds that cannot tolerate personal internal conflict or an acceptance of their own shortcomings. We all indulge in the belief that we are good human beings.

It is also a little acknowledged truth that the people we meet tend to be, almost mirrors to see ourselves reflected. What we might not like to see in our reflection, we "transfer" to the "other" as a dislike of THAT person. And so it goes on!

For all the technological progress humans have made, the progress of our social dynamics has not advanced nearly as steadily.

It is still US (good people) and THEM (bad people).