Another Day

by Noel-Morgan:

The alarm-clock roars ominously
With tyrannical command to threat
The slumbering arm slowly unfolds
To quiet herald presently

The dawn awakes inexorably
‘Tis not the day his cause to fret
Nor matin’s frost to make him cold
But futile toil of untold aim

For money work to money spend
He works all day always the same
Though he will never understand

There is no fun nor is there play
For he who works towards no end
A slave; a curse to all of Man

Amid all the inconsistencies that happen in politics, the greatest constant is corruption.

The Price of Silence

I've been reading a book by the illustrious sociologist Zygmunt Bauman, Globalization: The Human Consequences - ISBN 0-7456-2012-4. Already in the first chapter something caught my attention, and I'll transcribe it here so that you may share in my bewilderment:

"The price of silence is paid in the hard currency of human suffering."

Is that not what we all witness in our daily lives? Whether we see it around us and amongst us, or whether we merely watch it on TV, what is evident to all of us is that there is much human suffering all about us. What we each know in our hearts is that suffering begets suffering and that we are each and all responsible for interrupting this cycle of misery. That we may or may not be the direct cause of someone’s agony is far less relevant than the fact that we may act to resolve it and to put an end to that suffering.
Nevertheless, let us all not fool ourselves in that most of human suffering is caused by humans; greed being the chief motivation. Some among us are actually architects of the main torments that torture humanity, but all of us are responsible to some extent.
Inaction, silence, apathy are all symptoms we all share in our Society. We each shield ourselves within the comforts and distractions of our lives; making ourselves content to acknowledge that there is suffering and that there is nothing we may do to end it. Yet, there is much that each individual can do. Among the simplest attitudes one finds that by choosing well those who would lead us, by denying disreputable practices their unjust reward and by fomenting just practices in our working environment and in our families, we would be already contributing to an extent toward the purging of human suffering. Should we endeavour to do more? Absolutely! However, in pursuing to reward justice and fairness, which is to say among many things that one should earn that for which he has worked and that alone, we would have a start.
Defeatism: Therein lies the sin of our ways.

The Price of Attitude

I have of late come to realise that standing up for one's ideals is quickly coming out of fashion. I don't really know if it ever was in fashion, but I am certain it is not in vogue nowadays. Coming to this conclusion was not difficult per se, but having found it, I have had to endure some hard truths. The first of these truths is really very painful. I have observed that speaking up for your ideals (whatever they might be and in whatever context, I’m not discussing any particular standpoint) makes those around you uncomfortable. I'm serious. Whether or not they agree with you is less important than the fact that you are bringing something to their attention that they would prefer to ignore. Many-a-person will simply distance himself/herself from you rather than face a difficult subject. The second truth I discovered is that once you stand on your own, people tend to fear you. At first, it felt strange to me to observe the signs of fear on people who knew me as a very controlled person for a long while; yet, when they made the decision to ‘belong no matter the cost’ they compromised much. These people often choose to avoid you because you can do something they are too afraid to perform. The third truth is that people prefer to justify their poor choices at your expense. If you stand on your ideals and refuse to validate their way of life, you will become a pariah. Finally, a person, who assumes an attitude of courage in defiance of what they judge to be wrong, or dishonourable or inappropriate stands in stark contrast to the vast majority who surrender their beliefs and values to peer pressure, media control and popularity. One such person becomes a constant reminder that an individual of whatever background can stand for what he/she believes in, if that individual is unwilling to let go of an ideal. This makes many people uncomfortable in your presence, and they stick their heads in the ground, rather than face you. Hence, I have come to understand that the price of attitude is learning the truth about those whom you deem friends. The hardship of this lies on the fact that most of those you once regarded as your friends become uneasy with you and forsake your friendship on behalf of the preservation of their own ego. Yet, there is one consolation in all this, which is the fact that those who remain your proclaimed and public friends truly are. I’m not saying that those who remain must agree with you, quite the opposite really, but they are the ones who respect a person of opinion and attitude. In all honesty, those acquaintances you lose were not worth your time anyway, and those you find out to be people of honour and discerning, who can see beyond an opinion and into your heart, these are truly worth having as friends. Therefore, whoever you are and wherever you are, my advice to you is dare to pay the price. Not paying this price drives you into paying an even steeper price; that is to say that you will compromise your values, your soul and ultimately your own identity.

What's More Valluable?

Our Western Society has been tending towards the valorisation of material wealth for a few hundred years now, but it was not always thus. There was even a time when material wealth was something, upon which others frowned. Nowadays, our Society tells us wealth is the means to happiness. You and I were very likely born in this context of valorisation of wealth and we take it for truth, when in fact it doesn't necessarily have to be so.I know more than one person who values wealth far below other things. Some regard honour and character as their most prized possessions, and would gladly sacrifice their financial health on behalf of these two characteristics. Other people have a strong need to be loved and/or desired, and they value those things above money. They'll often give away their wealth to achieve the attention they require. Then, there are those altruistic few who covet simply to aid their neighbour. They'll live simple lives and give up the constant 24/7 working hours many of us choose to maintain in exchange for the opportunity to be where they are needed, and thus feel happy. Finally, there's even one chap I know, a physicist, who values his free time to play board games and only works six hours four times a week.These people more often than not won't make as much money as the average ambitious workaholic executive, nonetheless they are no less happy. Are they wrong to give up material wealth? Our Society would think so, but how can we dismiss the fact that these people achieve a kind of happiness many of our rich citizens never do? We cannot.There has to be a greater sense to one's life than to 'make money to spend money'; specially when one gives up so much to make all this money the media tells us we need to spend in order to be happy. To me, it doesn't add up. Most of us wakes up, goes to work, shops on the way home or during lunch, watches the tele, goes to sleep and wakes up the next day to make more money so we can spend it to achieve happiness through a vacation trip somewhere or a new car or another type of 'toy' of some kind. Can't we find a shortcut to happiness? Can't we simply live it out? Of course we can! So why is the accumulation of wealth beyond the basic needs of a man so essential to our Societies? I'm quite positive it is not so the average bloke can achieve his happiness.Don't take me wrong, I'm not against the accumulation of wealth as a means to do something, nor am I against travelling during vacations (I even like it). But is it the only way to happiness? Not by a long shot! I've learned a lot by looking at how some of the people I mentioned above live their lives. They work alright, but just enough to make a living. The extra money some of us prize so much and see as a way to fulfilment, they don't make. Funnily enough, it seems not to weigh so much against their happiness, when they are living it out on a daily basis.

Honour is on Sale

People in the West have lost their way. We have become corrupted in values we once cherished above our very lives, and we have substituted them for the emptiness of consumerism. It was once thought that honour, family and duty were highly desirable qualities. We prized charity and self sacrifice and we valued truthfulness and commitment to justice. These were good and treasured values which contributed to make people better. One became a better person because we would not be content with victory without honour. The world became a better place, because we would not suffer our brethren to be abused or treated disdainfully. The ends did not justify the means in the old days.Yet, in the present, it is victory that counts; victory at any cost and at the price of even honour, family and duty. Victory, for us, is rewarded with fame and money and can erase the vilest evils done to attain it. You are justified in whatever you do if you succeed; that is our motto nowadays. It is almost inconceivable that we would change the moral evolution of ages for the ephemeral material gain that we now covet as a society, but it becomes clear when we understand that our Western Society has surrendered its ancient values to hedonism and financial gain. We have emptied ourselves of what made us whole, and now desperately seek to fill the void. Unlike many of our Eastern brothers, we, the Peoples of the West whose proud past made us what we are today, have forgotten that it was not the end that made us so, but the way we threaded to achieve that end that resulted in our success.What is progress without justice? Perhaps one day we will realise our folly, and remember with a heartache that we were once a better people because we sought to become better as a people. Perhaps we will one day rescue ourselves from the confusion that our hedonism has brought to us. And in that day, we shall remember that it profits one nothing to gain the whole world if, in the process, one looses oneself.